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JOESSA; 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY 



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l'JUu£ 


BY 

IVAR JONSSON 

AUTHOR OF “THE DEPARTMENT CLERK.” 


O it is glorious to have a giant’s strength, 
But it is tyrannous to use it like a giant. 




F. TENNYSON NEELY COMPANY 

NEW YORK AND LONDON. 





THE LIBRARY uT 
CONGRESS, 

Two Copies Received 

MAY. 4 1901 

Copyright entry 

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CLASS^XXo. No- 

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COPY □. 


COPYRIGHT I9OI 
BY 

F. TENNYSON NEELY CO. 
IN 

UNITED STATES 
AND 

GREAT BRITAIN 
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 


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JOESSA; 

OR, 

SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


CHAPTER I. 

The snows of Northern Wisconsin were melting, and 
the rivers had overflowed their banks and flooded the low- 
lying marsh lands and forests beyond them. Where, a few 
days before, the flats had been seen stretching to the low 
hills or woods some distance back, there were now broad 
expanses of water large enough to be so many distinct 
lakes. It was evident that these were not deep bodies of 
water, for their surface was dotted with willows only par- 
tially submerged ; in some places the depths were so shallow 
that the withered bunches of grass, spared by the fires of 
the winter, rose above the ripples and floated, rising and 
falling with the waves. Points of land, covered with 
maple or elm, oak orpine, jutted out into the broad waters 
which, in some places, were miles in width. One side of 
the river was generally marked by the land rising in a 
steep, woody bank which overlooked the rapidly moving 
stream below. The trees grew down quite to the brink, 
and many of them overhung the surface of the waves, 
making it rather unsafe for small craft venturing too close 
to them, since the eddies have a way of drawing floating 
objects under the projecting trunks with great force. 

Wild water-fowl, in great numbers, hovered over the 
pools and were swimming about, having just alighted, or 
were flying away if disturbed from any cause. Brants, 
ducks, divers and geese of many kinds diversified the sur- 
face, and there were not lacking great flocks of pigeons 

3 


4 


JOESSA ; OR, 


which were passing by unceasingly. The earlier run of 
saw-logs was floating down the stream, and a drive nearly 
a mile long was in full view of the bluff which commanded 
the entire course of the river for miles. 

There was a large white farmhouse at the top of the 
bank, partly concealed by the forest trees which had been 
spared for shade when the rest were cut down. The west- 
ern pioneer in a wooded country does not place much value 
on trees or shade ; he is too apt to consider them a nui- 
sance, fit for little else than firewood, suitable for destruc- 
tion as cheaply and conveniently as possible. One gener- 
ally finds a clearing in these sections, or did, for it is to be 
supposed that the inhabitants are better acquainted with 
the value of timber by this time, with a log-house in the 
center of it, maybe an outbuilding or two. The fence, 
Virginia rail, is at the edge of the forest, and the house 
itself has no other enclosure. Not a solitary tree has been 
left for shade or ornament, though some fruit trees may 
have been planted which are usually too young to be more 
than barely observed. Possibly a few flowers are growing 
which enliven the scene a little with their bright colors. 

But this house was an exception to the rule, and I am 
glad to say that there are many exceptions. The building 
itself was large and commodious ; the main part two stories 
with an ell one story high ; the large barn and numerous 
outbuildings behind spoke something of the prosperity of 
the owner as well as of the cheapness of lumber in that 
region of pine. The selection of the site had been fortu- 
nate or made with good judgment, fora good-sized stream 
ran down the bank from a spring-house which rested on 
wide flag-stones. The fence which surrounded the whole 
was of sawed and planed pickets and painted white like 
the house. 

Houses are generally painted white in those parts, and 
this color, variegated by the green of the blinds, has a very 
pretty effect. 

Two persons were standing in the road which passed 
down near the bank of the river and ran in front of the 
dwelling. One was a rosy-cheeked girl — such bright red 
and white cheeks are only produced by the biting air of 
northern winters ; — her name was Joessa Reynolds. The 
other was a rather thick-set and heavy-looking young man 
— Job Smith. Job had all the appearance of being one of 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


5 


those men whom Caesar liked— fat and comfortable and 
sleeping o’ nights, honest and slow and not very likely to 
trouble himself about things which did not visibly inter- 
fere with his spheres of action. Evidently he had just 
come from a trip on the water, for he held a dripping pad- 
dle which, occasionally, he would grasp and turn around 
to illustrate his speeches or relieve himself from any em- 
barrassment which might arise in the course of the con- 
versation. 

“ J ob,” said Joessa, “ I don’t like to have you take me to 
this spelling-school. I appreciate you and your kindness, 
but you always bring me bad luck, because you are so 
awkward. I don’t know how it happens, but with you and 
me things always go the same, — that is, badly. I shall be 
sure to get spelled down on some unfortunate word which 
I know perfectly well, and then you will be to blame for 
it all.” 

Job did not relish such sincerity, apparently, but he had 
no idea of giving up so easily and see some more favored 
rival go off with the girl. 

“ 0 Joessa,” he said, “ how can you say that ? I took 
you to the spelling-school at Simpson’s Mill only two weeks 
ago, and you stood up the last of all. There were scholars 
from three or four schools there, and they made sure of 
spelling you down. But they couldn’t,” added he, with 
some pride as if sharing in some way in her superiority. 

“ That is true,” replied she, feeling the force of the com- 
pliment. “ Still, I had bad luck ; I caught cold, I lost my 
mittens, I tore my new dress on the nail you had driven into 
the sleigh to mend something about it. It is always the 
same, — there is some kind of an antipathy between us.” 

Job felt perplexed; the proofs brought forward had 
weight, and, to make matters worse, he was slow of speech 
and slow of thought. At last, what seemed to him a bril- 
liant conception struck him. 

“Now, Joessa,” said he, “we will prove who is right, 
you or I. We will go to the spelling-school together, and 
if there is any bad luck, I will agree that there is an antip- 
athy between us. If not, then you w ill be wrong — that’s all. ” 

But Joessa still hesitated. 

“You get spelled down so easily that I am ashamed of 
you. I like to see a good scholar — one who is smart and 
knows something. I am afraid you’ll fail on some easy 


6 


JOESSA ; OR, 


word and make yourself ridiculous ; then every one will 
laugh, and I shall be so mortified, for all will know that 
you came with me. It would be so much nicer if you 
could make a good appearance.” 

Job felt the rebuke keenly. Indeed, nothing would have 
suited him better than to make a good appearance, and 
many besides him could, likewise, be pleased in the same 
way. Appearances go so far in this world of ours that it 
is little wonder that some thinkers would resolve everything 
into appearance and leave nothing of substance behind. 

For the first time his assurance forsook him, but he strove 
to conceal his confusion by digging with his paddle in the 
ground, which was still hard and frozen. Joessa noticed 
his hesitancy and, of course, divined the cause. A woman 
seldom fails to note and interpret the emotions which arise 
in the breast of one who is enamored of her. She did not 
think it worth while to relieve his embarrassment, at least 
for the present. Her mind was half made up to go with 
Job, but she did not wish to announce her intention just 
yet. Besides, there is an enjoyment in the consciousness 
of power over another which appeals strongly to human 
nature, and which often edifies the possessor of it even if 
it causes pain to some one else. 

The silence continued for a little time ; Job would glad- 
ly have opened his mouth to say something or anything, 
but his thoughts seemed so foolish and crude that he was 
afraid to venture a word. Joessa had no thought of break- 
ing in upon her quiet enjoyment of his perplexity till the 
humor struck her, and the proper moment had arrived. 
He did not say anything, however, and she at length be- 
came impatient at the pause ; she felt like talking herself, 
nothing very unnatural. 

66 Job,” she broke in, in a patronizing way, “ you are very 
annoying and awkward, but, really, I esteem you very 
much. If I didn’t I wouldn’t have anything more to do 
with you. As it is, I may overlook your faults just this 
time ; but you must remember that it is the very last. 
I can’t see how I have been so patient with you under 
the provocation, and I sincerely hope that I shall have no 
more reason to complain. If I thought that you were 
going to be less unlucky, T might go with you even yet.” 

Job, seeing these signs of relenting, felt better ; the coast 
was not quite clear, but the prospects were good. 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY; 7 

“ Well,” he confessed, “ I suppose I could do better than 
I do, if I didn’t have so many other things to think about. 
It comes more natural to me to run logs and help saw them 
up than to spell.” 

“ Your mind is not on your studies,” said she, severely. 

She had often heard these words repeated by her teachers, 
and felt a degree of pride in saying them in the same tone. 
Job, who was a rather thick-headed youth and whose mind 
was occupied with the natural world around him, accepted 
the truth with some contrition and a full sense of his 
deficiency. He felt, however, that what he lacked was 
more than made up by the intellectuality of the girl. 

“ You are so smart, Joessa,” said he, “that you ought 
not to expect so much of common people. Of course we 
are not up with you, and it couldn’t be thought of.” And 
he gazed on her with beaming admiration. Such incense, 
when poured with honest intention on the altar of flattery, 
is usually sufficiently acceptable ; it was not unpleasant to 
Joessa, even if plainly expressed. She thought the time 
now proper to accept his offer of taking her to the spelling- 
school, where she had no doubt that she would shine bril- 
liantly. 

“ How will you come, Job ?” she asked in a mollified 
tone. 

“ There are a lot of us going in boats,” said he, “and I 
thought I would bring my skiff around ; there’s just room 
enough in it for two. We can keep along with the rest 
without being crowded in one of the large boats.” 

“That is very suitable,” she decided, and, as she heard 
her aunt calling her, left him standing there, bidding him 
a very short adieu. 

Joessa Reynolds had been left an orphan at an early 
age. Her uncle, a well-meaning man, had undertaken the 
task of rearing and educating her ; that is, educating her 
so far as his circumstances permitted. She helped her 
aunt with the housework, and when the country school 
was in session, attended it part of the time. If other en- 
gagements were pressing, she stayed out of school and 
worked at home. The relationship was on her uncle’s 
side, and, as a consequence, her aunt did not regard her 
with too favorable eyes. A wife does not always look 
upon the relatives of her husband with a great degree of 
affection, and female relatives have even less claim to favor 


8 


JOESSA ; OR, 


than the men. A dependent girl is, above all things, a 
special source of irritation. As such grow up they begin 
to have a mind of their own which does not well follow 
preconceived notions. 

There is, also, a spirit which reaches out after sparing 
and saving — a keen sense of “ property.” The labor of a 
child is not worth much in dollars and cents, while the 
sacrifices made and the vexations endured are all too vis- 
ible to a calculating mind, and the country housewife must 
have a calculating mind or everything will go awry. The 
income is small and acquired by grinding labor ; its full 
value is estimated again and again in the process of earn- 
ing, till it becomes the main object of existence. The 
outgo is weighed just as carefully, and much theorizing 
is necessary to make the two balance. Besides this, there 
may be children of the household which makes the stranger 
seem superfluous and unwelcome. 

There is, no doubt, something of comfort in holding up 
to the recipient of such charity the value of the obligations 
thus incurred, but this is not always an adequate recom- 
pense, even if submitted to passively, which is seldom the 
case. So bickerings arise and trouble and uneasiness, till 
any sort of life seems preferable. The sense of duty, 
however, is not often wanting, and things settle down to 
a general acknowledgment of the skeleton in the closet, 
which is to be brought out whenever the occasion is suit- 
able or the whim of the moment may dictate. Often, too, 
the neighbors are called upon to aid the perplexity by 
listening to the well-worn story, and to sympathize with 
the poor woman who so unselfishly sacrifices herself for 
her husband’s relatives. Wo to him, unfortunate man, 
if he seeks to abate a single jot or tittle of the burden. 

Life is fated to be hardened by sordid cares which 
usually fall on the- weakest shoulders. The lot of woman 
is hard enough in itself without the additional weight of 
superadded loads. But it is in the disposition of many 
people to make the most of their actual troubles and in- 
crease them as far as possible by adding a great many 
imaginary ones. 

The relations of Joessa and her aunt were subjected to 
the influence of many of the impulses above described. 
The girl had foolish notions, as girls will have ; the aunt 
was not wisdom incarnate, as we may infer. Joessa had 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


9 


faith in herself, hacl thoughts of some brilliant future to 
which the aunt could see no reasonable foundation. So 
there were continual clashings and constant unhappiness. 
As the girl grew older, she became less tractable, probably 
influenced by frequent conversations with certain well- 
meaning ladies who freely gave advice, not always weighed 
in the just balances of wisdom. In small country places, 
if in no other, there is a tendency to look after the welfare 
of one’s neighbor, to reason about it and to give advice, 
sage, no doubt, in the opinion of the giver, but, since it 
is rashly given and without careful consideration, it is not 
always the best to follow in practise. Joessa had fallen 
into the had habit of taking a multiplicity of counselors, 
and found herself sometimes halting between many 
different opinions — well-intended and sincere — but very 
confusing taken as a whole. 

It mattered little which she decided to accept, the best 
of them would almost surely embroil her with her aunt. 
Her uncle, quiet and modest man, was forever for peace 
when there was no peace. He could not cast the girl off, 
so allowed these small tempests to rage and separated him- 
self from them so far as he could. 

Among other singular discoveries which a girl makes 
with so little trouble, Joessa had found out that she was 
both a beauty and a genius. A few of her admirers had 
told of the first, in strict confidence, while she herself had 
arrived at the latter conclusion. She had read a few books 
in her spare moments and had found in them wonderful 
stories of handsome and rich noblemen in disguise falling 
in love with and marrying poor girls who had nothing but 
their beauty and goodness to recommend them. She did 
not doubt of her goodness any more than she did of her 
beauty. Youth is never doubtful — there are no crooked 
paths for young feet. 

She did not know exactly how it was all to come about ; 
but the most interesting part of it was that it might hap- 
pen somehow. There were very few noblemen in that 
part of the country, — to be precise — none at all, but then 
one might stray from the herd or come there for nothing 
else but to see her. Such things had happened and might 
happen again. 

Then, if it were not a nobleman, there might be some 
one else — some one from a very distant place which she 


10 


JOESSA; OR, 


had never heard of, where people and all were so different 
from what she had always known. The common and 
familiar had no charm, — the precious and rare always came 
from far away. 

Her irregular attendance at school had impaired the 
value of what few things were there taught. She was not 
entirely at home with the three R’s, but she could write 
passably, even if the puzzles of arithmetic remained un- 
solved by her. Besides, she could read the fastest of any 
one in school. A few mistakes in pronunciation mattered 
little at that time in this remote region, and elocutionary 
feats were accomplished mostly at the expense of . rather 
strong lungs. There was yet another sphere in which she 
could shine — shine brilliantly and generally without a 
rival ; this sphere was spelling. It had not been reached 
without earnest and long-continued labor. It had been 
reached, and there was the glory and triumph. Joessa 
could spell every word in the spelling-book. 

Her spelling-book itself was a sight, and, on occasion, 
she was wont to bring it out and exhibit it to the admiring 
on-lookers. The covers had been partly worn away, but 
were patched and replaced by pieces of pasteboard neatly 
cut and adjusted ; the whole held together by a covering 
of faded calico nicely sewed on so as to hold the different 
parts firmly, and make an entirety of the fragments. 

The leaves were worn thin by neat and careful fingers 
which had hovered lovingly and reverently over the pages 
while their mistress ardently imbibed the stores of knowl- 
edge they contained. The little and short words had been 
mastered long ago, the long ones at the back part were of 
more recent acquisition, but they, too, had yielded to per- 
sistent energy and held no labyrinths unexplored. Even 
the three or four pages in the middle of the book, which 
brought together so many crabbed and unreasonable words, 
had no terrors for her — she was mistress of them all and 
could say with the calm confidence of victory — it is finished. 

Job’s father was the owner of a saw-mill, and from his 
earliest years it had been Job’s delight to be around when 
logs were being sawed into lumber, though sometimes it 
carried grievous risk for his person. But he had survived 
all these childish perils, and his ruling passion, if we ex- 
cept his fondness for Joessa, was logs and lumber. He 
knew all about a log, he had studied logs as Joessa had 


SO StTNS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


11 


studied her spelling-book ; he knew them from beginning 
to end. The moment he put his eyes on one he could tell 
you just the kind of tree it came from ; whether straight 
or crooked, tall or short ; he could tell if the woodman 
had made a mistake and had not cut up the tree to the 
best advantage. If there was an inch of waste, he could 
tell how it might have been avoided and could show the 
difference in the profit and loss account in the course of a 
year from such errors. 

To him logs and lumber were not a means of making 
money, but what art is to the artist — an end and aim in 
themselves. If the money came with them, well and 
good, if not, his artistic taste was gratified by accomplish- 
ing a labor of love. Other men have had other aspirations 
and have followed on after their visions with all the 
strength of their varying natures, have gained their objects 
in the pursuit or have desisted when compelled by weak- 
ness or palled by satiety. Their strivings have been made 
for the highest objects and the basest — but mostly for 
gewgaws — and if the science of logs and lumber is capable 
of arousing enthusiasm, the enthusiast may well console 
himself by reflecting that guiltier pursuits have borne 
fairer names. 


12 


JOESSA ; OR, 


CHAPTER II. 

It was the evening of the spelling-school. As dusk 
came on a few boats gathered at the foot of the bluff 
before the above-mentioned farmhouse, just where the 
path was lost in the water. They were the small skiffs 
commonly used on the northern rivers, capable of seating 
five or six persons comfortably, and were propelled by a 
pair of oars. All were loaded with young men and women 
going to the spelling-school. Joessa and Job were em- 
barked in a slight hunting craft just large enough for 
two, too small for oars and in which only paddles were 
used. It was one of those canoe-like skiffs in which per- 
sons riding must balance themselves as a rope dancer on 
his rope ; if not, the promptitude with which they upset 
and throw their occupants into the water is astonishing. 

But Joessa and Job were no novices. The young lady 
was provided with a paddle and helped vigorously in the 
propulsion of the boat. One of the larger craft was pro- 
vided with an iron jack — a sort of basket made of iron 
bands at the end of a pole — set in the bow. These jacks 
are used by persons spearing fish in the shallow waters ; 
they are filled — wholly or partially — with knots and splin- 
ters of pitch pine which are set on fire and replenished 
from time to time as needed to keep up the flame. A 
bright light is thus kept up, which not only serves to show 
the path for the boat, but attracts the fish towards the 
brightness while, at the same time, it discloses them to 
the fisherman waiting with his spear. 

The flotilla passed out over the shallow waters, avoiding 
the river with its rapid current, so as to lighten the labor 
of rowing. The girls sang hymns, keeping time with the 
oars, and were occasionally assisted by some of the young 
men who would sometimes join in to help out the choruses. 
Floating logs, masses of reeds and the varied flotsam and 
jetsam were continually encountered and avoided. The 
shallower floods of the marshes were passed, and they en- 
tered the deeper channel of a small affluent of the main 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 13 

river which was shadowed by the large trees reaching far 
to the middle of the stream. 

Following its course for a short distance, they came to 
a space clear of the continuous forest which overshadowed 
its banks, and where the lands rose so as to be consider- 
ably higher than the low overflowed tracts through which 
they had just made their way. For some distance 
back of the stream the trees had been felled and burned 
up or gathered into the ugly log fences which, sup- 
plemented by the ever-recurring Virginia rail, were sup- 
posed to keep the cattle from the growing crops. They 
answered the purpose, but the cattle acquired skill in 
jumping over the makeshifts, and, to protect the corn, 
the farmer was compelled to put his children on guard 
through the day while he himself was at work, and to 
sleep with half an eye open at night, besides making 
hurried excursions in the dark, lightly costumed, after 
the irrepressible cows. 

The schoolhouse was distinguished from the dwellings 
by its windows, which were all lit up. You may always 
tell a country schoolhouse by the number of its windows, 
— whatever else is wanting there is never any lack of them. 
The building — half log, half frame, stood alone by the 
roadside, unenclosed amid a wide plantation of weeds. 
Money had been wanting to complete it, so the outside 
had been finished, and the interior was left in embryo, so 
to speak. The desks consisted of two boards — planed on 
one side — nailed to the wall, one above the other ; the 
upper one slightly slanted so as to afford greater facility 
for the pupils when writing. The seats were long benches 
without backs placed in front of the desks. 

Thus, when the student wished to look around so as to 
see what was going on in the room, he faced the middle 
of the building and rested his back against the edge of the 
board which formed his desk. By so doing he was en- 
abled to observe everything as in a panorama, and keep 
himself posted on current events. If he desired to write 
or study, however, like the men of old, he turned his face 
to the wall and secluded himself from the company pres- 
ent by turning his back on them. 

Our party filled out the vacant seats pretty well, part 
of which were already occupied. Three teachers, who 
represented as many different schools, sat on a platform at 


14 


JOESSA ; OR, 


one end of the room behind a rough table which had been 
manufactured by some amateur carpenter. Candles had 
been placed at various points of advantage and gave light 
enough to show that it was not darkness, but so little that 
it was not easy to distinguish anything clearly. Tallow 
was not plentiful, and it was necessary to economize. The 
room, too, extended to the bare rafters, uncovered by lath or 
plaster, like the rest of the house, and for the same reason. 

It is not necessary to say that gatherings of this sort 
were almost the only amusements of this country at that 
time. They were varied by an occasional “dance” in 
some house whose occupants had not “ got religion,” but 
remained among the unregenerate multitude. This, how- 
ever, was looked upon as a grave delinquency by the more 
pious part of the community who could condone almost 
any offense except dancing, if due contrition was manifest. 
But dancing, being a heinous sin called for extra repent- 
ance, and the squeak of the fiddle itself suggested illicit 
and forbidden pleasures. 

People often came considerable distances to a “ rais- 
ing,” spelling-school, dance or camp-meeting, sometimes 
as far as twenty or thirty miles, camping out and 
sleeping in their wagons. There was no great number of 
persons assembled, for the country was sparsely settled, 
but all did not live near by. The pupils had come from 
three or four different schools, and all were anxious to 
have the best speller, or the one who “ stood up ” last, 
from their school. 

The exercises began ; one of the teachers stood up on 
the platform and called the assembly to order, making a 
brief speech and stating the object of the meeting. Two 
of the pupils, presumably the best spellers, chose sides ; 
choosing one at a time till all present who wished to spell 
were ranked on one side or the other. 

They stood in two rows — one on each side of the school- 
house — so as to front each other in two long lines. Joessa 
had been selected for one of the two leaders, while Job 
had some cause to congratulate himself that he had been 
chosen at all. 

The officiating director took a spelling-book in one hand 
and a block of wood, which had been perforated by an 
auger hole so as to serve for a candlestick, and which held 
a lighted candle, in the other. He passed between the 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


15 


opposing lines, giving out the words as he walked slowly 
down the room, halting before each speller while the mo- 
mentous words were being spelled. 

It was the fashion to begin at the beginning of the book, 
so as to give the poorer spellers the opportunity of stand- 
ing up for awhile, for each one who missed a word was 
obliged to take a seat, and was henceforth reckoned out 
of the contest. The little words, such as ; b-a-d, bad, 
m-a-d, mad, s-a-d, sad, etc., took up some considerable 
time, and one might have the idea that much effort had 
been required for mastering them. It may be even so, for 
the acquisition of the simple elements often demands more 
labor than the most advanced work, and the effort ex- 
pended can never be justly measured by the results ob- 
tained. At* this stage of the proceedings Job came to 
grief, not that in general he spelled so badly as might be 
thought, but his mind was on other subjects, and he was 
paying too little attention to what was actually going on. 
His fate came with the word sir, which he unskilfully 
transformed into cur. This was an old mistake ; he had 
failed here more than once before, and had been specially 
warned and coached by Joessa, but the superabundance of 
cautioning had made him timid and so confused that the 
“ worse appeared the better reason” to him. Joessa 
looked at him with sad eyes of reproach. lie met her re- 
gards with an air of humble honesty, but he was ashamed 
of himself as, no doubt, he ought to have been. 

The spelling continued and the words became longer 
and harder, and the lines grew thinner, and the gaps be- 
came more numerous as the teacher proceeded to the 
middle of the spelling-book. It took much longer to deal 
with these words, for it was deemed better to pronounce 
the syllables in spelling. Thus, taking incompatibility 
for an example, we should have, i-n, in, c-o-m, com, in- 
com, p-a-t, pat, incompat, i, i, incompati, b-i-1, bil, incom- 
patibil, i, i, incompatibili, t-y, ty, incompatibility. A 
glib tongue rattles off these long syllables with great 
rapidity and effect. 

There was considerable confusion on the outskirts which 
had little to do with the subject on hand. The small boys 
amused themselves by throwing paper balls when they 
could do so unobserved ; there was much whispering going 
on in the obscure corners between the older boys nnd 


16 


JOESSA ; OR, 


girls. These things were all parts of the entertainment 
and had brought the participants as much as anything else. 

Meanwhile the spelling went on with unlessened vigor. 
When one was fatigued by pronouncing words another 
was ready to continue the task, care always being taken 
that a goodly proportion of easy words should accompany 
the harder ones so that the exercises might last longer. 
It would destroy so much of the “ fun ” if all were spelled 
down too soon. 

It was soon evident that Joessa’s principal adversary 
was a freckle-faced, red-headed, under-sized and impu- 
dent-looking boy. He could spell anything in any way to 
suit the requirements, he could spell fast or slow, repeat- 
ing syllables or not, just as they were called for. There 
was no occasion for spelling the words backward, but, if 
there had been, he would have risen equal to the emer- 
gency. His tongue was oily and accurate, and the manner 
he waded through dark and mysterious mazes was a joy 
to his sympathetic contingent. 

Early in the contest, Joessa, by some instinct peculiar 
to ladies, had divined her enemy and knew from which 
direction the final struggle would come. She had a secret 
presentiment of evil which would not down, although she 
laughed at it in her own mind and tried to make herself 
believe that it signified nothing. But, if there is evil 
brooding, it travels apace and never stops to inquire 
whether it will be welcome or not. 

So they kept on spelling, and the boy, mighty as the 
dwarfs spoken of in the old German fables — yea, even as 
the potent Alberic himself — solved the knotty problems 
while the lines around him and Joessa grew more and 
more contracted. At last they stood alone, the only sur- 
vivors. They were now near the back portion of the spell- 
ing-book, and some of those present thought that the 
whole book would be exhausted with the two still stand- 
ing. But it was not so to be. 

Job had edged around in front of Joessa, so that he 
might better witness her triumph, but as there was no 
room on the long bench for him, he balanced himself on a 
short piece of board which he placed edgewise on the floor 
in front of the bench. On this insecure perch he swayed 
backward and forward till he swung back a little too far, 
lost his balance and fell squarely on his back, 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


17 

There was a shout of laughter and much confusion, but 
order was finally restored and things went on as before. 
The word embarrassment was given to Joessa, — she was 
laughing, and, thrown of her guard, she spelled before 
she stopped to think — fatal error — she had put in only 
one s. The murmur around told her that she had missed 
and, mortified and humiliated, she sank back into her 
seat — vanquished. 

The poetry of life had vanished for the rest of that night 
for Job and Joessa. The misfortune was felt with equal 
keenness by both, though in different ways. He could 
blame no one but himself, and tried to edge out from 
under the responsibility by attributing the mischance to 
luck — an invisible sponsor for so many mishaps which are 
the result of thoughtlessness or folly. 

She, on the contrary, had the delight, and it is no small 
one to suffering humanity, of knowing the exact cause of 
her defeat. When blame attaches it is very pleasant to 
have some place where it can be laid without a suspicion 
of it clinging to ourselves. 

There was little left of the evening now ; the great 
event had come off, and the red-headed boy had won the 
prize — a brand-new spelling-book. Joessa looked straight 
out with cold staring eyes when the book was presented to 
the urchin ; it would have replaced her own, so well worn 
by constant study, but she would not show by the least 
sign how much she was hurt, nor give any of her envious 
competitors — she knew that she had them — a chance to 
triumph. She felt that now, indeed, she hated Job. 

Before this, at times, she had deceived herself by think- 
ing that she liked him just a little — not much — but still 
she had felt some friendship for him. This was too 
much, and, if she did not quite hate him, she felt that it 
would be very easy to do so. Only one thing could relieve 
her strained nerves — that was a good crv ; but she would 
show no token of weakness and repressed her feelings with 
all her resolution. It was very ridiculous, no doubt, but 
there is something of tragedy in the absurd. 

There was some singing in concert, and a few “ pieces” 
were “spoken” before the assembly broke up. One 
or two comic songs, to put all in good humor, came 
last. Then there was the saying of good- by ; some of 
the elder boys improved the opportunity by making 
2 


18 


JOESSA ; OR, 


arrangements with sundry young ladies, who had come 
there unescorted, for seeing them safely home. Our 
party were alone in having come across the water in boats. 

The pine knots in the jack were again lighted, and the 
yellow flame shone far over the waters as the boats cast off 
from the bank, their occupants filling the spacious dark- 
ness with their noisy songs and laughter. 

Joessa did not say a word to Job, who was too much con- 
fused himself to begin a conversation which he guessed 
would be filled with weariness and vexation. Nevertheless 
he would have said something if he could have found words 
appropriate to the occasion ; but whatever of thought he 
rolled over in his active mind seemed entirely unworthy of 
utteranQe when he was ready to speak. So there was noth- 
ing to do but ply his paddle and hope he might be able to 
think of something before they came to the land. 

He perceived, however, that Joessa was more vigorous 
with her paddle than usual and more reckless in her motions. 
More than once the frail skiff trembled throughout its en- 
tire frame and careened so that the water washed over the 
gunwale. Knowing the cause of her agitation, he longed 
to confess his fault and beg for pardon, but had no words 
for the expression of his thought. 

Thus, moody and distracted, they proceeded rapidly 
on their way, little heeding the cheerful shouts of their 
companions in the other boats. They had left the tribu- 
tary stream, had crossed the shallow water which had over- 
flowed the marshes and were now in the channel of the 
main river. The current was not in the middle of the 
watercourse, but swept from one side to another, forming 
eddies in places where the full force of the flood was 
deflected by the banks. 

They had not kept very close to the rest of the party, 
and, being at some distance from the light, the objects 
around them and their course were rather obscure. Be- 
sides this, they were preoccupied with other thoughts and 
gave little heed to the management of the boat. It hap- 
pened that they were caught by a sudden rush of the cur- 
rent, where it swept into a large eddy which was whirled 
back from the obstructing margin, and, before there was 
time to turn aside, the slight craft sped under a tree lean- 
ing over the water, almost touching its surface. 

J oessa, aroused at the danger, caught at a branch which 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


19 


hung toward her and which was too near the water to allow 
her to pass under it while she sat upright in the skiff. As 
they were going at a good rate of speed, she was dragged 
overboard, upsetting the boat as she passed over the side, 
but she remained clinging to the branch, though it was too 
slender to enable her to gain the trunk by it. 

Job had gone into the cold water head over heels, but 
the icy waves brought his scattered thoughts together so 
that they hurried along at quite an unusual speed. Danger, 
which makes some men frantic, makes others cooler and 
readier for action, just as wine paralyzes the tongue of one 
man and furnishes the eloquence of his neighbor. 

As he rose to the surface, Job shook the water from his 
head and eyes. His cap was floating peacefully down the 
stream a few yards from him ; he first secured that, put it 
on his head and looked around to see what was the matter. 
A glance showed him all the disaster ; the skiff upset, 
Joessa clinging to the tree and himself in the river. This 
last he had scarcely realized till then. 

Action closely followed thought. A few vigorous strokes 
brought him to the boat, by a quick and dexterous motion 
he righted it, while his skill in doing this was such that 
very little water was shipped. Then he swam near the 
end and dropped over the side into the little vessel. He 
brought a paddle with him as he swam alongside and, 
with a few flirts, threw enough of the water out to make 
the boat sufficiently seaworthy. 

Then he started for the rescue of Joessa. She was safe 
enough for the present, but not very comfortable. The 
limb of the tree was quite slender, and her weight bore it 
down into the chilling water so that she was half sub- 
merged. All that was necessary to do was to wait for Job 
and keep cool — a thing not difficult to do under the cir- 
cumstances. 

She fell into the boat when it came to her— nothing 
very easy to do, since the eddy whirled the light craft 
away two or three times before she finally succeeded in 
embarking. 

Job, in utter despair, now found a few words to say ; 
but she did not stand upon ceremony and told him to 
hold his tongue. He felt that the punishment was just 
and submitted. Their companions had not noticed that 
anything had happened, so quickly had events transpired, 


20 


JOESSA ; OR, 



and there was so little noise about it — a fact which speaks 
well for their strong nerves. 

As soon as the skiff reached the land, Joessa sprang out, 
all dripping as she was, and faced Job, who had not ex- 
pected such promptitude. 

“ Job Smith, ” she cried, “you are the bane of my life. 
I knew something dreadful would happen when I went 
with you to the spelling-school, and, now, everything has 
turned out worse than I expected — all on account of you. 
You needn’t see me home, and I don’t want to see any- 
thing more of you. I hate you.” 

And she was gone. 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


21 


CHAPTER III. 

Joessa had other admirers besides Job. Her troubles 
with her aunt had inspired her with a profound aversion 
to her home and all it contained. Her uncle she regarded 
with indifference, his children with the dislike which she 
felt for their mother, her aunt. The mutual distrust and 
dislike were akin to those almost always felt by stepmother 
and stepdaughter, not always openly manifested, but 
present nevertheless. 

This lack of home life had impelled her to seek such 
sympathy as was offered, seldom helpful and usually per- 
nicious. It was such as to make her more dissatisfied with 
her surroundings than she already was, and to encourage 
the growth of wild and romantic notions, never capable 
of being realized. x 

The work which was due at home was neglected, and 
the time which it should have occupied was devoted to 
visiting so-called friends. It seems to be in the nature of 
children to turn from home and those who love them best 
to strangers who may chance to give them a few kind 
words ; words generally meaning little and soon forgotten 
by the one who utters them, but, perhaps, cherished by 
the child with strange tenacity and destined to bear abun- 
dant fruit in after years. Be the effects good or evil, they 
may not appear at once, but the germs are favorably placed 
in a fertile soil. 

Young girls do not as a rule like the company of kind, 
motherly old ladies, whose conversation and advice, won 
by hard experience, might do them so much good. They 
are too dull, too much given to sermonizing, or they as- 
sume airs of authority which is not acceptable. They pre- 
fer those light and airy and given to laughter. For girls 
like to laugh and' like those who laugh as they do ; a pity 
that sound judgment and some little heed of the ills of 
life do not go with it, so that less pain and weariness may 
develop from the want of care. As natural, Joessa pre- 
ferred the lively gossips and, in consequence, fell into no 


22 JOESSA ; OR, 

end of trouble — infinite in variety, but always having a 
certain sameness. 

She, together with her friends, had sketched a grand 
future for herself. She was to become rich by marriage ; 
her fortune was in her face, the gossips said, and it was her 
part to seize the luck sure to come. Her ideas of fortune 
were very misty as yet ; theirs were more clearly defined. 
She had been thinking of errant princes and chivalrous 
cavaliers ; they had already selected a worthy mate for her 
in the neighborhood — a man of “ property.” 

The laws of nature, which preserve or destroy a race, 
have placed their notices and the placards of their penalties 
where all who live may read them. They are legible by 
the blind, the deaf and the mute ; they require no word 
of explanation — no commentary more difficult to interpret 
than the law itself, and which the skilled doctors of what 
should be simplicity torture into shapes which the law- 
giver never dreamed of. They are engraved on tablets en- 
during, though continually falling asunder ; — these tab- 
lets are the human heart. There are instincts which exist 
and are guides, not always safe or sure, but we have no 
other ; they may be divine' and immutable in origin, they 
may be the impress of environment, heredity so called, 
transmitted through numberless forgotten ancestors. 
Whatever the origin, these instincts bear in themselves, 
it may be faintly, the precepts of cosmic law, the clearest 
interpretation which has ever been given us. 

Thus are these laws known, yet they are constantly vio- 
lated in the everlasting attempt to break them while evad- 
ing the punishment, but the earth has yet seen no day 
nor night in which the guilty has escaped. 

The golden calf was not destroyed when the fine powder 
was scattered on the turbid waters ; the corporeal part 
may have disappeared, but the immortal spirit was re- 
leased, never to cease from plaguing the sons and daugh- 
ters of mankind. It is the eternal spirit of greed and 
envy ; the grasping after the thing unearned by one’s 
proper labor ; the fierceness of desire without the scales 
of justice. It borrows every mask and uses every subter- 
fuge ; the anarchist assassin will say that he labors for 
humanity, the wrecker, that he moves the wheels of trade, 
the miser, that the world is going to ruin because it never 
had his thrift— all assigning different names and motives. 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


23 


but all inspired by a common greed for wliat is not justly 
theirs. Temples, dedicated to this deity, vaster than those 
raised by manacled hands on the shores of the Nile, have 
risen, decayed and risen again from their ruins, and the 
throngs of worshipers have never ceased to press forward 
with fresh garlands to crown their sacrifices. Again and 
again undeceived, they are always ready to fall into the 
same snares, mistaking the glaring tinsel for something 
enduring, the deceptions of crafty jugglers for the mani- 
festations of the eternal and invisible. 

Peter Thomson f f kept ” the village store. He was com- 
monly reputed to be “rolling” in wealth; in, fact, no 
one could say just how much he was worth. Wealth is an 
intangible and varying quantity. In the squirrel tribe, 
a surplus of nuts and acorns should constitute wealth ; the 
superfluity may be utilized which is not always the case 
with what mankind treasure most. Here, again, we are 
confronted with the ever-recurring question of varying 
tastes and fashions, for the greed of the savage, which 
should be discarded by the man more advanced, does not 
regard so much the intrinsic value as he does his own in- 
explicable caprices. So, with him, wealth means plenty 
of tawdry ornaments, perhaps a barrel or two of rancid 
grease which he can eat or rub on his naked body to give 
it a little more gloss. Barbaric princes, raised a little 
higher, affect ornaments and jewels again, but they might 
say that the metal is less base though the principle of val- 
uation is the same. Civilized man revels in the represen- 
tatives of all these things — food, drink, ornaments, dress 
and an abode — for he may possess little more, and these 
only for a season. But whatever else it may bestow on the 
possessor, it gives power and that is the most precious of 
all. With the power comes the enigma of its true or false 
use by the owner, and on the solution of that question 
depends the fate of nations and races. 

Peter had seen hard times from his boyhood, and the 
imprint of his struggles was impressed on his sallow coun- 
tenance. Cast upon the world at an early period, the 
struggle had developed abnormally the sordid qualities of 
greed and avarice. By dint of a youth devoted to self- 
denial bordering on asceticism, he had accumulated a little 
“property” which he increased as circumstances per- 
mitted. It is not necessary to enter into every detail, 


24 


JOESSA ; OR, 


but, for the astute man, the necessities of others will al- 
ways afford opportunities. Thrift was carried by him to 
the extreme limit which the law allows, and with him 
wealth increased as the years grew old. 

Satiety had not come with his growing hoard ; what 
would have been beyond his farthest dreams in his cheer- 
less boyhood, was now nothing but the instrument by 
which further gain was to be secured. He had ceased to 
be a man among other men, but had become a talon, a 
claw, created for the sole purpose of drawing in “ prop- 
erty.” The means had become the aim, the vestibule to 
the temple of fortune had become for him the temple 
itself, and he had spent so much time in groping and 
groveling that he never had had time to discover his 
mistake. 

The man who has never shared his griefs and sorrows 
with wife or children, remains undeveloped and imperfect, 
just as the woman is imperfect and immature who knows 
not motherhood. The search for wealth had turned his 
looks to the earth when he might have beheld the stars ; 
his bachelorhood had transgressed an edict of nature which 
had brought punishment clsoe after the violation. The 
fibers which were distorted and twisted, which might have 
amended with proper treatment, were stiffened and hard- 
ened in deformity by his solitary life. Man has developed 
in companionship and sympathy, and, if deprived of them, 
the individual loses the character which has made his kind 
what it is. 

Something of this seems to have occurred to Peter, and 
he had long debated with himself about the expediency of 
taking a wife. The thing had never come to him in prac- 
tical shape, but he had dreams like other people, even if 
the medium through which they were seen was not pre- 
cisely the same as that possessed by others. Strange to 
say, or not, just as one pleases, the face always seen in 
his visions did not match his own wrinkled and careworn 
brow. In it there were youth and grace and loveliness ; 
the dimple of red cheeks, the coral of redder lips ; soft 
accents gently spoken, the murmur of songs, the cadences 
of laughter. 

There are some women who gain, to a certain extent, 
the confidence of such men. To one of these Peter had 
confided his desires and had told her that his choice had 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


25 


fallen on Joessa. In negotiations of this sort, maneuvers 
must be gone through with and time wasted in delibera- 
tion. Friends must be consulted, and advice must be 
given and taken ; the desirability of the match must be 
weighed by putting heads together, and no end of pre- 
liminaries are to be dispatched before the business itself 
is under way. This is all under the seal of strict secrecy, 
but, in spite of it, nobody is deceived or mystified. 

Joessa knew of the honor which was destined for her, 
and lost considerable sleep in consequence. To be sure, 
proceedings had not passed beyond the embryonic stage ; 
but matters were progressing and informal proposals 
might be made sooner or later, so it was well to be pre- 
pared. There is nothing so satisfying when a certain line 
of action must be adopted as to know what to do before 
the choice is presented. 

Her mind was almost entirely fancy free, some few 
dreams, slig*ht and fleeting, may have disturbed the quiet 
of her maiden thoughts, but the traces of them were al- 
ready effaced or ready to be effaced. Something else had 
lately occupied her — it was the ambition of obtaining an 
“ education.” 

The desire to better one’s condition is manifested in as 
many ways as men differ from one another. In our day 
the love of the knowledge which has been preserved in 
books or maybe obtained at first hand from Nature herself, 
has replaced, in many of the more generous spirits, that 
wasteful ambition which once found a vent in desolating 
rivalries, leading often to savage crimes. The main idea 
in both cases is the acquirement of power, of superiority 
of some sort over one’s fellows, unless we except those rare 
cases where the impulse comes from the simple love of naked 
truth. In older and ruder times this power was gained 
by the exercise of physical strength, abetted by skill in 
using the sword. 

To-day this sort of glory is somewhat on the wane, 
although the thought of the savage survives here as in 
so many other things. The prize-fighter would not be 
received in some circles, though he still finds numerous 
admirers. The bully has his satellites, but they have de- 
scended much in the social scale. The admiration offered 
to the successful general is due, no doubt, as much to in- 


26 


JOESSA ; OR, 


tellect as to brute strength, although even here there is 
much of the old worship of Hercules. 

In a general way, in our times power may be obtained 
without the exercise of mere physical force, and a training 
is necessary. A training fitted to bring out and develop 
latent powers would be the best, but, too often, the exig- 
encies of the competition of our hothouse modern civi- 
lization demand the development of the egotism of the 
individual, who is brought into prominence at the expense 
of some one else. That is, each one’s peculiar talent is not 
brought out in the manner most suitable for it, but it 
must be so trained as to afford him a better chance in the 
struggle for existence than his neighbor — a sorrowful fact, 
where it is a fact. 

Joessa had not learned to spin subtle theories, but she 
had heard and read considerable matter touching educa- 
tion, and, deeming it a good thing, she desired a share of 
learning for herself. A young girl when first confronted 
by a serious problem in life is more apt to do as some one 
else wishes than to follow her own inclinations. She had 
no thought of consulting her uncle or any of his family, 
she had long formed habits of complete independence of 
thought and followed only her own will, influenced to a 
greater or less degree by her friends. 

The indefinite gossip gradually assumed a more sharply 
defined shape. The lady who had undertaken to sound 
Joessa, took delight in unfolding the magnificent promises 
which she said had been made by Peter. Distrusting his 
own powers of persuasion, Peter had gone back to the 
good old-fashioned way of obtaining a wife — that is, of 
buying one ; one of the survivals of savage thought in 
modern civilization which has descended to our times and 
still flourishes with as much vigor as ever it did. 

The young man goes a-courting with sighs, languish- 
ings, throbbing hearts, etc., for his stock in trade; but 
the old man, who has passed by the time of these attrac- 
tions, makes up for them by promises of goods, fashioned 
for use or ornament, but always such as may seem attrac- 
tive in young eyes. With him the affair of the heart is 
obscured by the business of the trader — a trader such as 
those who were regarded with scorn by the truthful bar- 
barian, Cyrus, when he asked : “ What sort of a people 
are these who meet every day in the market-place to lie to 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


27 


and cheat one another?” Singular contrast, with the 
young man love is an affair of the heart, with the old man, 
of the pocket. 

Joessa was not very much affected by the prospect of 
gorgeous and fashionable gear, dresses and wraps, black, 
brown or gray, made of calico, gingham or with a few 
golden gleams amid the soft folds of scant silk and satin, 
but she had fixed her heart on an education and was 
almost ready to sell herself for it. The thought of old 
Peter’s harsh visage and uncouth ways were not very pleas-^ 
ant ingredients of the bargain, but these could be per- 
suaded into the background without much effort of the 
imagination. 

It would require time to get the education, and mean- 
while something might happen. Andromeda was rescued 
at the water’s edge, and another Perseus might come to 
save another Andromeda. These thoughts were not al- 
together her own ; they were suggested to her as a means 
of liniug the prospect with silver and of making all things 
appear as bright and comfortable as possible. 

Things progressed so far that she granted some inter- 
views to Peter, merely as an assurance of friendship and 
good-will. They did not meet at her uncle’s house, for he 
and the thrifty Peter had had, at some previous time, 
pecuniary transactions together. The result had been 
eminently satisfactory to Mr. Thomson, but her uncle 
had not been pleased with the outcome, and, since that 
event, they had not spoken to each other. 

There was a mutual friend who was so kind as to offer 
her parlor for these tete-a-tetes, in which old Peter would 
make himself as agreeable as possible to the young lady. 
His own education had been neglected in his youth, and 
he felt the necessity of one by measuring his own defi- 
ciencies. He had al ways felt an honest pride in possessing 
only the best ; it had long been his motto : “Get only 
the* best, that is always saleable at a good price and is not 
apt to deteriorate if the market falls.” This maxim, ac- 
quired in business, was as applicable to wives as to other 
commodities, though, it is probable, that he did not place 
a money value on his wife as he did on everything else. 

Be that as it may, when the mutual friend suggested the 
propriety of sending Joessa to school for the purpose of 
giving her a good appearance, the old man was willing to 


28 


JOESSA ; OR, 


furnish the money if she would marry him when she had 
graduated. He was by no means parsimonious when the 
money was spent for his own benefit, however close he 
might be in his dealings with others. As for himself his 
wants were few, and he did not care to spend good money 
for things which he did not value. 

So his friend was authorized to say to Joessa that Peter 
loved her in no half-hearted way, but placed himself, 
goods included, entirely at her disposal. He would send 
her to a boarding-school and pay all expenses till she 
graduated, and the wherewithal should be furnished on 
no stinted scale. All he required for this expenditure, 
and it was to be no small one even for him, was her love. 
She was to love him after her graduation and become his 
wife. 

Joessa had thought, at one time, that she felt some 
slight affection for Job, but the affair of the spelling- 
school had undeceived her, she now saw her way more 
clearly. She had at no time felt the respect for him which 
is evoked by eminent superiority and had ever seemed 
looking down rather than up when she regarded him. 
This, in itself, was sufficient to destroy any love which 
she might have experienced. A woman naturally looks 
up to a man, not down upon him. If the stature of the 
would-be aspirant for favor is so slight that he is gazed 
upon from above, wo to his pretensions. 

She still met Job occasionally, but when a woman has 
decided to reject a man, she usually does it thoroughly ; 
that is, before she becomes hardened and sets herself up 
as an accomplished angler of men. With her new ideas 
Joessa was altogether intolerant of him and gave him no 
opportunity to condone past offenses. 

Peter desired to make himself as agreeable as possible ; 
and caused endless gossip by taking Joessa to church once 
or twice, once to a party which was held at the house of 
his friend, the lady of whom we have spoken, and once to 
the evening prayer-meeting. Such attentions on the part 
of Peter started all the tongues of the village and the 
country thereabouts. 

It was at once surmised that there would be a wedding 
soon, that a great house would be built, that the rough- 
made furniture, at that time generally made near home,, 
would not be used in furnishing the mansion, but was to 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


29 


be purchased abroad at enormous expense. Mothers held 
up the example of Joessa to their daughters as that of a 
wise and sensible girl who was sagacious in the ways of 
the world, and who would be rich and happy, and as 
happy as rich. These stories came back to Joessa by some 
crooked road, but, after all, the prospect did not appear 
quite as rosy as it had been described. 

The old man had a way of trying to take her hand as if 
cheered and warmed by the touch of the soft white flesh. 
He had the air of one pierced by cold and desirous of 
shaking off the chill. This sent a shiver of disgust and 
horror through Joessa’s veins ; she could not endure the 
contact, it was the repulsion of antipathies, frost and 
warmth, loveliness and ugliness, youth and old age. She 
had not yet said “yes” to his proposals, and so remained, 
as she thought, free, but already he assumed the authority 
of a master even to disregarding her wishes in slight 
things, causing her almost infinite disgust. She might 
have made some real sacrifices without a murmur, but 
when she was called upon to give up her own will in 
trifling matters, she had more serious reflections than any 
she had yet experienced. 

He seemed to her like some one who had bought a par- 
cel of goods and was about to dispose of it precisely as he 
pleased. Besides this, there was a feeling of awe and con- 
straint which she could not shake off ; there came to her 
sometimes a shudder of fear at the thought of accepting 
his offer. What if there should be no deliverer, if she 
should really be obliged to marry him ? The nightmare 
was too horrible, and she threw it off, as one starts from 
feverish dreams. 

But there were triumphs as well. One night she had 
gone alone to the praver-meeting, expecting no escort. 
Peter had come there before her and sat through the 
services, watching her with complacent eyes. At the end 
she turned to go. Job stood beside her in the aisle. 

“May I see you home to-night?” he said, seemingly 
anxious about her reply ; there was a weakness in His 
voice, something unusual in one so bluff and strong. 

She smiled sweetly : 

“ Thank you, I must go home to-night with my cousin, 
who has come with me and would be disappointed if I left 
her to go home alone.” 


30 


JOESSA ; OR, 


He paled slightly and turned away. 

A moment later Peter came to her and said “ Good 
evening. ” Then he passed out of the church door with 
her hanging on his arm ; he was glowing in all the pride 
of conscious ownership. As she left the building she 
noticed Job leaning against the wall, pallid and weak ; 
often in life little things bring pallor and weakness to 
strong men. Then she felt a sense of her power and 
smiled as if borne up by a thought of triumph. 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


31 


CHAPTER IV. 

Peter was calling on Joessa and was doing his best to 
be agreeable. He did not exactly know what to say to 
please her, so he talked of matters pleasing to himself. 

te I finally foreclosed on the Jones farm last week,” said 
he. “ When 1 lent the money I reckoned Pd git it fur 
'bout half price. OF Jones alius wuz shifless an’ no ac- 
count. IVe gut a buyer fur it now, an’ mebbe Fll double 
on’t before long. It’ll keep anyhow.” 

Joessa was not very much interested in mortgaged farms 
just then, she was debating what kind of a dress she would 
have made up for traveling ; she was to go to school in a 
week or two, and the old man had said that he would pay 
all the expenses. 

“ I believe,” said she, “ that I will take enough of the 
black silk in the store to make me a dress. If I conclude 
that I don’t like it after it is made up, I can get something 
else and have a dress or two made of that.” 

Such frankness and carelessness made Peter gasp. If 
she was so extravagant now, what would she be after they 
were married ? His money had not come to him lightly, 
and every cent of it had left an imprint on his hard hands 
or wrinkled countenance. 

He was not a miser, loving money for itself alone, but 
he knew how to use it to advantage and without waste ; he 
desired to have every cent invested so as to bring in just 
returns. 

His economy was close to parsimony, but it was nothing 
but accurate calculation. His own dress was always neat 
and becoming, never threadbare, but seldom entirely new. 
There were no surplus suits in his wardrobe ; he did not 
need more than what his position required, and was a most 
accurate mathematician in figuring out his exact wants. 

Joessa’s careless way of speaking jarred on his keen sense 
of the fitness of things. He did not venture to remon- 
strate, but noted the drop of gall which is ever mingled 
with sweetest draughts. Then he thought that she might 


32 


JOESSA ; OR, 


be right ; he did not know much about the ways of 
women, and had always heard that they needed many things 
to make out a fine appearance, and it was not for him, at 
this time, to demur at what Joessa might say or want. 

He recollected, also, that his best customers in the store 
were the ladies, particularly if they could buy on credit. 
When their purchases were limited to the scanty supplies 
of their husbands’ pocket-books, and that husband stood by 
critically surveying the amount of wares bought, the trad- 
ing was circumscribed. But when there was a book ac- 
count, business was brisker for a while, even if it ended at 
last with the inevitable mortgage. 

This thought made Peter wince, he hoped that he should 
be able to pass through such an ordeal and say “ Ho,” but 
no one can measure danger in advance, and he was diffident 
as to his strength in resisting the pleadings of young and 
charming eyes. 

“ Then, I shall need a hat and a bonnet,” she continued. 
(< My uncle never did dress me decently ; poor man, he is 
kind-hearted, but he has all he can do to support his own 
family, without spending anything on me. I was always 
an orphan and an outcast.” 

Peter saw that here was an opportunity to make himself 
agreeable. With himself he drew every line as exact as 
those of a geometrical figure, but he considered it proper 
at this time to relax just a little ; the ruinous expense 
could be adjusted further on. He had, also, something of 
vanity, and liked “ putting on an appearance ” as well as 
another. Leave it to him that it did not cost too much. 

On one of his numerous trips to the city to buy goods, 
he had incautiously invested in some laces and embroideries 
together with passementeries and different kinds of trim- 
mings and ribbons which were too fine for his trade. So 
they lay on his shelves waiting for a customer who was not 
likely to come soon. Here was an opportunity to be gen- 
erous and thrifty at the same time. 

“ J oessa,” said he, “ I’m a-gwine ter make yer the finest 
present you ever sot yore eyes on. Whut d’ye think I’ve 
been a-savin’ up fur ye ? I know ’twill make ye larf when ye 
see all them traps I’ve gut fur you. There’s nothin’ you 
ever seen like the ribbuns an’ laces an’ passimentrys — 
valler an’ red an’ green. Then there’s a hull pile o’ im- 
proidery fer yore shimmies an’ all sech, You come over to 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 33 

the store some time an* I’ll show ye all I’ve gut in that 
line.” 

This was, indeed, good news to Joessa ; her ordinary ap- 
parel had been more than stinted, clothes made mostly of 
homespun mingled with a scanty assortment of calico and 
gingham for trimming, or, very seldom, a stray ribbon or 
something of that sort for ornament. Not being able to 
make comparisons, she was as happy as if clad in silk or 
velvet cut in the latest style and lit up by the splendors and 
marvels of the jeweler’s art. 

Joessa had seen and heard of these treasures and was de- 
lighted at the thought of having her choice among such 
abundance. 

“ I need shoes, too,” said she ; “ my uncle says that I am 
the most expensive one in the family to keep in shoes. 
They cost so much. But then I have a good deal of walk- 
ing around, to do, and they won’t last forever.” 

Peter thought that he had some very nice fits in odd 
sizes which had been on hand for some time, but he did 
not say so to Joessa. 

“ I’ve got a lot of fustrate pebble goat and kid shoes 
that’ll jest fit you,” answered he. “ I’ve saved ’um up 
an’ I’ve gut ’um already fur sale or anything else. You 
come down an’ I’ll gin ye yore chice, an’ don’t you say no 
more that old Peter is stingy, fer I b’leve that he knows 
how fer to do the han’some thing.” 

Saying which he drew his chair a little nearer Joessa’s, 
but she, with that instinctive feeling of dislike, almost 
unconsciously drew her own straight, high-backed chair 
slightly away. It was chilly spring weather, and they were 
sitting before a fire faintly flickering in the rude stone fire- 
place. The room was the better of the lower two into which 
the log house was divided. A narrow passage ran between 
the two parts, so that there were really two separate houses 
below, but connected by the roof and upper story. The 
chimneys were built on the outside of the walls, but were 
so constructed that the front of the fireplaces of rough 
stones came into the rooms by means of an aperture which 
had been cut in the logs. 

The sides of the house were, outside, . the primitive tree 
trunks with the bark on, whose interstices had been filled 
with small pieces of wood and all well plastered with 
mud ; not very sightly, but warm in winter. On the in- 

3 


34 : 


JOESSA ; OR, 


side the round surface of the logs had been smoothed by 
hewing, and mud and all were concealed by a coat of white- 
wash. There had not been much regard for ornamentation. 
One window at the end, one at the side served to let in 
what light was thought necessary ; there was a mantel, 
made of plank, planed and painted, over the fireplace, and 
one or two cheap pictures were on the wall. The floor was 
formed of unplaned boards. In the corner was a boxlike 
bed, occupied at night by several of the family ; leaning 
against it was a hemlock broom, and there were one or 
two chairs beside those occupied by Peter and Joessa. 

A low ceiling of rough boards shut off the space just 
under the rafters ; this formed another room, a receptacle 
of odds and ends, and in case of necessity a bed could be 
made there. A home-made ladder led up to it through a 
square hole cut near one of the corners, so that less space 
might be taken up. 

Such was the parlor in which they were seated, not much 
worse than any in the neighborhood, and better than 
some. 

No doubt Peter was sincerely attached to Joessa, in a 
peculiar way, since he was a peculiar man. He wished to 
be generous and let others know that he was generous, but, 
at the same time, liis thrifty spirit had become so ingrained 
in all his thoughts and actions that it became manifest in 
whatever he said or did. He conceived that he loved 
Joessa and saw no reason why she should not love him in 
return ; no doubt he loved her, — in his way. 

As we all make so many mistakes in matters of judgment, 
we should not hastily conclude that Peter was not fitted to 
inspire the heart of a young romantic girl with love. At 
all events, he was sufficiently sensitive, and felt aggrieved 
when Joessa made her slight motion of aversion ; — it was 
not a just requital for the lavish gifts with which he was 
ready to endow her. 

“ You needn’t be so techy,” he observed. “OP Peter 
haint a-gwine ter crowd ye,” and he took from his ample 
pocket a huge black plug of tobacco and cut off a good 
sized piece with his buck-horn handled jack-knife. Then, 
throwing the old quid into the fire, he put the fresh por- 
tion between his eager jaws, renewing by his strenuous 
efforts the little rivulets of tobacco juice which ran down 
from either corner of his mouth. 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


35 


“ I wuz jest a-gwine ter get a new cud of terbacker,” 
he added by way of apology and to keep up the conver- 
sation till he could think of something else to say. 

Joessa was looking at him carefully, with more interest 
in him than she had felt in any one for a long time — per- 
haps she had never been so much interested in a human 
being in her whole life. The bargain had been ratified, 
and this was only a part of the price of purchase. Her 
aversion increased as she gazed intently at Peter’s care- 
worn, weather-beaten countenance, wrinkled and yellow, 
covered with a rough beard and partially illuminated by 
his greedy eyes. She was the embodiment of thoughtless 
youth — he of cautious and sordid old age ; her dreams and 
the hopes which were to be bought by his money were very 
dear to her, but, even in her frivolity, she felt that she 
was paying all they were worth. 

“I don’t like to see people chew tobacco,” cried she 
energetically, “ and I hope you are about to give it up.” 

This was a new thought for Peter, and he shivered as 
he fully comprehended the import of the words. He 
began to see that there was a prospect of some jarring in 
the smiling future he was creating for himself. A young 
and charming wife was doubtless much of a desideratum, 
but there were vistas of extravagance and expense opening 
out, there was to be a clash about old habits and pe- 
culiarities, and victory itself might be too dearly pur- 
chased. 

f *' 0,” answered he, “ there’s no harm in a little ter- 
backer. It’s a mighty good thing fer low sperets ; noth- 
in’ quiets the nerves fer me like a good-sized chaw uv 
nateral leaf. I know the wimmin folks air alius a-objectin’ 
to it, but they don’t know whut’s good fer theirselves.” 

Joessa did not feel called upon for a reply, but wondered 
what Peter had looked like when he was younger, and if 
he was so terribly homely then. She thought that, per- 
haps, the reason he had never been married was that he 
was so ill-looking that no one would have him, and debated 
with herself whether it would not be better to reject him 
even now and let her education go. Peter thought the 
opportunity now favorable for a compliment. 

‘‘ How hansom you do look to-day, Joessa,” exclaimed 
he with genuine enthusiasm. “ You’re the purtiest gal 
in the town, I swan ; I brag ye up mornin’ an’ night, an’ 


36 


JOESSA ; OR, 


all the young fellers are kickin' theirselves 'cos oF Peter 
has gut ahead uv 'um." 

Joessa did not value the compliment as highly as she 
might have done had it come from some one else, but it 
was not altogether unpleasing — a compliment is always a 
compliment, and there are other things worse. She even 
smiled a little and condescended to say that Peter might 
prolong his visit, when he talked of going. “ It would 
not be long," she thought, for she was going away to 
school the next week, and then the glorious future would 
open out before her. From the gifts of fortune which 
awaited her, old Peter would get back what money he 
would expend, and if not — but she did not pause to think 
of “ if uots." 

So the brief time of preparation passed ; her uncle 
never interfered with her by word or sign, her aunt was 
voluble, but without influence, and she followed where 
her inclinations led her. 

The heir of monarchy always receives marked attentions, 
and the Mrs. Thomson to-be did not lack homage. To 
be sure, there were certain dissatisfied individuals who 
cabaled secretly, hinting that Joessa's conduct was not 
exactly proper. But many who owed Peter for money 
borrowed or goods purchased or feared the foreclosure of 
an overdue mortgage, formed a party zealous in her de- 
fense. In whatever circle it might be, when there was 
an exchange of mysterious whispers and significant nods 
at the mention of Joessa's name, certain ladies were just 
as ready to defend as others to traduce. So it came about 
that the countryside was divided between two factions 
which waged a war without truce, all with the pretense 
of being the best friends imaginable ; for war is more 
successfully carried on by stratagem than by open 
force. 

Nevertheless, Joessa held forth in state at the house 
of her friend last mentioned, and daily received her visitors 
during the few days she was yet to remain before going to 
the distant school. Among others, Job came, uninvited, 
of course ; paler than his wont, but very much in earnest. 
Joessa was surprised, she had so completely forgotten him 
in the last busy events that it seemed to her as if he should 
have forgotten her. But she received him with much 
cordiality and seeming interest, just as we receive those 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 37 

friends whom we do not wish to offend, but secretly de- 
sire somewhere else. 

She shook hands with him warmly and invited him to 
take a chair, then inquired after the health of his mother 
and sisters, but avoided speaking of himself or herself. 
She divined that these things would become the subject 
of their conversation later and braced herself suitably for 
their discussion. It was not necessary to revert to the 
spelling-school and the boat-ride home that evening, but 
Job, who had a habit of introducing disagreeable subjects, 
and others beside J ob have the same habit, spoke of it. 

“ I hear you are going away, Joessa,” he began, “ and 
I have come to say that I don’t bear you any malice, and 
I wish you good-luck and all sorts of prosperity. I’m 
sorry for what happened the night of the spelling-school, 
and I lay it to my own bad luck. It seems that nothing 
goes just right with me unless it’s when I’m in the saw- 
mill.” 

“You needn’t think of that, Job,” said Joessa con- 
descendingly, for, carried on by the high-tide of good 
fortune, she could afford to be generous. She forgot her 
resolution of not saying anything about herself and went 
so far as to dazzle Job with some faint beams of her 
radiant future. 

“I suppose that you’ve heard all about my going to 
school and all that,” she cried triumphantly. “ I shall be 
gone a whole year, and when I come back I shall know 
all there is worth knowing. I shall learn all languages, 
rhetoric, geometry and philosophy ; I shall be posted in 
etiquette and the usages of fashionable society ; I shall 
learn to play on the piano and how to dance in the latest 
style. I intend to play waltzes and duets and perhaps, 
operas, for I have a great liking for operatic music. If I 
take a notion and things are very favorable, I may go on 
the stage and make my fortune there.” 

Job wondered to himself in his slow quiet way how it 
would be possible for her to go on the stage and marry 
old Peter at the same time, but his faith in the smartness 
of Joessa was so great that he did not have much doubt of 
its accomplishment; he only wondered as to means of 
bringing it about. 

“ You can do anything, Joessa,” said he rather sad 1 ' 

if you only set about it, You’re so handsome th 


38 


JOESSA ; OR, 


know you would make a success as an actress ; Fve always 
heard that the pretty girls succeeded on account of their 
beauty ; and you have beauty and are smart,” added he, 
sighing deeply. 

Joessa felt more kindly towards Job ; she felt compli- 
mented by both his words and his sighs. The theme, too, 
was delightful, it was the homage rendered genius by plod- 
ding mediocrity. The fulness of the earth belongs to the 
chosen few — as they think — and it is proper that the rest 
of the species should acknowledge it. 

“ It would be a great triumph, indeed,” returned she, 
if I met the success of Jenny Lind. I may not sing quite 
so well now, but then who knows what might not happen 
with training ? ” 

“It might be,” assented Job gravely, “I never heard 
her sing, but I have heard you, and I don’t see how any 
one can do better.” 

“ Well, of course,” she answered, “ there’s no compar- 
ison now, but stranger things have happened.” 

Job wondered if, in such a contingency, there would be 
any hope for him. He was inclined to think not, but did 
not give up all hope of some change of fortune. 

“ If you succeed so well, Joessa,” asked he, “ have you 
any notion of ever coming back to see us again ?” This 
was a great question with him. He brought it out slowly 
and reluctantly, as if destiny itself hung on the answer. 

Joessa was too absorbed in herself to notice his eager- 
ness ; she was like the Indian lost in the forest who said : 
“ Indian not lost ; wigwam lost, Indian here.” To her, 
who regarded herself as the center of all aspiration and 
desire, places and people were indifferent, where she her- 
self was, there was contentment and happiness, provided 
the surroundings were such as would minister to her de- 
sires or passions. So she carelessly answered this matter 
of slight importance. 

“If I get among great and brilliant people, what is 
there to bring me back ? ” 

“No,” said he quietly, “there would be nothing to 
bring you back. Who could speak of your doing such a 
thing after you had once become famous ?” 

“Job,” cried she as if struck by a sudden thought, 
“Fve just thought of something. I believe in luck and 
n "pities. I know that I have luck and an affinity. Some- 


m 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


39 


how or other my luck will bring me riches, and my affin- 
ity is waiting for me somewhere ; when I find him, I am 
going to marry him.” 

Job was confused by this burst of confidence ; himself 
and Peter were left out of the young lady’s future com- 
pletely. He did not know what to say, and he had no 
time to say anything, for other callers came, and their 
t6te-a-tete was ended. 


40 


JOESSA ; OR, 


CHAPTER V. 

Goethe has discussed the subject of elective affinities at 
some length ; the result of his teaching seems to be that 
there is an eternal fitness existing between a man and 
some woman, but that the process of bringing these two 
together is generally very difficult and is sometimes, if not 
always, in contravention to' established usages. After all, 
it is pleasant to think that some irresistible power has de- 
creed for each one of us an exact counterpart which, if 
found, more than fulfills our fondest wishes. We wish 
and hope and dream, but always with a feeling of our own 
weakness, and, whatever our desires, it very seldom seems 
that those things we wish most will be reached by our own 
unaided endeavors. 

Those which are baser and lower, limited to our earthly 
nature, we may believe susceptible of being gained by 
little beyond our peculiar efforts ; what are higher and 
nobler present themselves as the gifts of something above 
us — a something to which man has given a multitude of 
names, but has confessed his need of help in every one of 
them. What satisfies the higher nature is not necessarily 
very high in itself ; the fetish is sufficient for the aspira- 
tions of the savage, and others who do not call themselves 
savages are satisfied with a more elaborate fetishism. 

Seldom it is that one rises above his environment, the 
fact in itself bespeaks originality ; but originality sinks 
below the average as often as it rises above it. It cannot 
be doubted that the peculiar impulses of Joessa sprang 
from a sort of original thought, not peculiar to one indi- 
vidual but common to a great number. In our time, per- 
haps in all times, many persons are moved by common 
emotions and similar thoughts which seem to have no kin- 
dred origin but which lead in the same general direction. 

The spirit of unrest impels onward along the same 
lines’, and each one thinks that he alone feels what thou- 
sands experience in harmony with him. There is a vast 
residuum left unaffected, but the progress of the whole 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


41 


mass is determined by the part which moves. The move- 
ment may be erratic and irregular, but these wayward 
motions bring about the fate of all— the moving mass and 
the mass at rest. 

Joessa started out on her way, aiming in her secret 
thoughts at conquests as great to her as Caesar’s were to 
him, and feeling, perhaps, no less confidence in her abili- 
ties. Those of her faction came out to see her climb into 
the old stage-coach and take her seat therein with all the 
sedateness of a feudal superior among her liege vassals. 
Peter was on hand, of course, for he paid all the expenses, 
as he boastingly told the assembled crowd. The coach- 
man waited in pompous importance, with the annoyed 
air of a great man delayed in weighty affairs, but gra- 
ciously yielding to the wishes of the multitude. The 
leave-takings progressed with old-fashioned leisure, for 
the departure was not positively on schedule time ; finally 
the whip 'sounded — it was the last warning, and Joessa 
was launched on her journey. 

The college, as it was called, was one of those small 
primitive institutions of learning which early sprang up 
in the West, and which, in connection with the rude 
common schools, have molded the American after a type 
known to no other land or time. In other countries 
education has been confined to the few or forced on the 
many by the governing power, or the masses have remained 
in ignorance when not systematically deceived to enhance 
the power of a class ; in our country alone has the im- 
pulse been communicated by the common people or has 
the curriculum been fashioned as the common people 
have willed. The feeling has been almost universal to 
afford the children advantages which the parents have 
lacked — to give means which may be used to approach 
the light more nearly, to discern more distinctly the veiled 

features of Truth. The college of Z , as it was named, 

had been at first designed for the education of the minis- 
ters of a certain sect, but had soon been forced to adopt 
broader lines in order to obtain pupils enough to pay ex- 
penses. Consequently there was little to show its original 
character except the services in the chapel, which all 
students were obliged to attend, and the strict regulations 
in regard to Sunday. The college was really a preparatory 
school, beginning where the common school ended. Al- 


42 


JOESSA ; OR. 


though there was a so-called university course, the higher 
classes contained barely fifteen or twenty students. The 
rest were mainly devoted to ordinary high school work. 

The patrons were the surrounding farmers who were 
able to dispense with the services of their children and 
pay their tuition, a burden by no means light in . man} 7- 
cases, and the merchants and professional men in the 
small country towns near by. Many of the students were 
educating themselves — working for a time at anything 
which would bring them money and, when they had ac- 
cumulated some little amount, spending it with the great- 
est economy imaginable to further their ambitions. Not 
all of this latter class were destined to go on to the end 
and obtain the coveted diploma, but the education begun 
in theory was ended in the severest school of practise. It 
may be that the training was as valuable, but it was often 
accompanied with ineffaceable regrets. 

It is so much to have a diploma ; not that it is worth 
much in itself, but it is an index of what should have 
been done, and it is taken for granted that what should 
have been done has been done. Too often it serves for gild- 
ing an ass’s head, but the multitude seldom look beyond the 
gilding and as rarely think of testing the metal. It is the 
surface of things which carries all the glitter and en- 
chantment — that is patent to all and seen without trouble ; 
there is too much toil in exploring the depths. Besides, 
people distrust their own judgment, rightly, for it is 
mostly wrong, and rely on some one else just as fallible 
but with more assurance. Subsequent events may re- 
verse this hasty verdict, but if it is ever reached, it takes 
much reiteration to imprint it on the average mind. 

The self-denial involved in the cost of the course im- 
pressed on the minds of most of the students the value of 
the privileges which they enjoyed, and, in consequence, 
there were few drones in the hive. Joessa did not fit so 
well into the surroundings ; her mind was occupied with 
objects which were not to be attained by close concentra- 
tion of thought and hard study. In the country school 
the requirements were not very severe, and there was little 
difficulty in keeping up with her companions. The mind 
of the young girl is not disturbed by those thoughts which 
come to budding womanhood. 

Joessa, it is evident, had left the artless dreams and the 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


43 


carelessness of childhood behind her, and was now pre- 
occupied with the cares which come to actual life. It is 
true, she did not treat them very seriously at present, but 
they were with her constantly, and carking care makes its 
demands in such a way that they will command attention. 
She found that her preparation had been none of the best ; 
what she thought she knew had been so slurred oyer that 
the supposed knowledge was of little service to her in her 
new conditions. The present was not improved by dream- 
ing of something better in the future, and the time spent 
on schemes suitable to free her from her entanglements 
was so much taken from what should have been devoted 
to study. 

In short, Joessa did not succeed any too well in her 
languages, music, geometry and dancing. She plodded 
along with the dunces of the class, to their satisfaction 
and the annoyance of herself. All her expenses had been 
paid, and she was reasonably well supplied with money 
besides, so that she had no worry about financial matters 
as had too many of those around her. Nevertheless, now 
that she was really completing her education, she began 
to become a little anxious about the price she was to pay. 
In the old stories, the bargainer with the demon leads a 
joyous and reckless life till the time approaches to pay 
the reckoning, then he occupies himself chiefly in attempt- 
ing to cheat the arch-deceiver out of his due. Of course, 
he has no leisure to think of anything else. 

In a school of this kind where there are mostly workers 
and few drones, the drones and those who fall by the way 
have a lonely time. Joessa pined for companionship and 
for the society of her old gossips, but every one about her 
were so busy with their duties that they had scant time to 
talk of anything except their own affairs. They did not 
have over much time for that. 

Some were enthusiastic advocates of vegetarianism, and 
were very earnest in condemning the use of meat. They 
could bring in abundance of proof to show that the diet of 
the Garden of Eden was strictly vegetable, and that the 
fruit of the tree of knowledge was some sort of an animal 
compound. Homer's ambrosia, they asserted, was a mix- 
ture of boiled oatmeal and baked beans, or, indeed, the 
oatmeal might have been baked and the beans boiled, it 
‘mattered little as to that, but those were the ingredients. 


44 


JOESSA 5 OR, 


It may be mentioned in this connection that oatmeal 
and beans form a very cheap and satisfying article of diet 
when nothing better is to be had. It is very suitable for 
intellectual effort and goes well with thin purses. Shall 
we call this cause and effect and ill-naturedly say that, 
because money was scant, they naturally turned to a diet 
of that kind ? However that may be, many of the poorer 
students were vegetarians. This was the old wisdom of 
the ascetics over again — to deny the body that the spirit 
might live. 

For Joessa the scant commons of the college table was 
sufficient, for it had been found expedient to provide the 
students with board in the institution itself, should any one 
desire to make use of the privilege. As the patrons were 
not millionaires and looked very sharply to outgoes, 
it had been found necessary to fit prices to the most modest 
income, and articles of luxury had been stricken from the 
bill of fare. The repast was no Lucullus feast nor a ban- 
quet to match Monte Cristo’s. 

The dining hall was long and spacious — as many as two 
or three hundred could sit at the different tables, which 
were presided over by some of the teachers who invariably 
savored the scanty meat with much grace before partak- 
ing of it. Breakfast was mainly of oatmeal, toast and 
coffee ; dinner was made up of meat, graham or white 
bread and coffee with a small piece of pie supplemented ; 
the supper was composed of bread, tea and cold meat, if 
any had been left from the dinner. 

The fare was frugal, but we must not conclude that 
much eating and drinking go with intellectual superiority; 
the Germans and English, great eaters and drinkers, have 
doubtless, made something of a figure in literature and 
other intellectual pursuits. But the sparing Spaniards 
and Italians cannot be altogether left out of the account, 
and the Romans, with all their courses of nightingales’ 
tongues and ostriches’ brains, were wofully behind the 
Greeks whom their worse enemies never accused of glut- 
tony. 

The bluff, burly consumer shows that he is an animal, 
vigorous and full of life, but you cannot have brains with- 
out some life to support them. Plenty of brains should 
go with plenty of food ; good healthy thought, with good 
healthy brawn and muscles. Your pale dyspeptic nervous 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


45 


thinker, who buries himself in a cell and fasts day and 
night that he may subdue the impulses of the body, may 
be a genius, but he is too apt to turn out an abnormal 
genius, one who has no communion with the instincts of 
humanity in general and who spends his life in weaving 
fine spun-webs which are too weak to hold the flies which 
he would in vain ensnare. The ethereal and spiritual 
sound well as catch-words, in fact, they too often denote 
the decaying and degenerate, the last characteristic of a 
type which is passing out of existence. 

Time passed, on the whole, pleasantly enough for Joessa ; 
the dronings of the class-room and the bad attempts at 
Latin, or something worse, were relieved by occasional 
Saturday and holiday excursions to some of the charming 
retreats in the hills around. The monotony of the chapel 
exercises were often broken by the appearance of some 
distinguished stranger who made speeches abounding in 
good advice, and they, being delivered in a much better 
style of oratory than the old familiar tone, were more 
listened to. 

One day it was whispered in the class-room that a gen- 
tleman of national reputation would be at the college and 
would deliver an address to the assembled students. A 
young man, not yet having attained middle age, his name 
was well known to most of them, and their curiosity was 
aroused to see what sort of an appearance he would make ; 
for appearances determine most things in this world of 
phenomena, and there was more anxiety about his outward 
semblance than about his inner reality. Vigorous and 
forcible thought are well enough, but they must be set off 
to good advantage or they lose half their value. The 
singing of a noted prima-donna may be excellent, but the 
public will not appreciate it half so well unless it is ad- 
vertised by the brazen lungs and yellow posters of the 
advance agent. 

Palmer Morril was the name of this celebrity, and it 
was in the nature of his business to be seen where people 
of influence congregated and votes were to be won. The 
practical politician does not wait till just before the elec- 
tion to conciliate the voters, but is always at work as hard 
as ever to keep himself before the people. If there is no 
other way of doing it he will attend Sunday-school pic- 
nics and church fairs, but he is so constituted that it is a 


46 


JOESSA ; OR, 


necessity for him to be talked about, and to have atten- 
tion drawn to himself. There is a graceful way of doing 
these things which cannot be learned, but is the effect of 
native genius. It is not kissing the baby at the country 
fair which renders a man popular, but the way the kissing 
is done. How old it is and how true, that the denials 
of some men are more acceptable than the consents of 
others. 

Joessa did not see Palmer when the exercises of the 
chapel began. She was seated in the back part of the room, 
and the mass of students intervening obstructed her view ; 
she was not very curious, and sat through the opening 
proceedings and the prayer as we endure the monotony of 
what has become routine. The young man rose so that 
he could be distinctly seen by all in the room and began 
talking rapidly and gracefully. He was of middle height, 
a little tall, but perfect in form and conveying the idea of 
strength and grace. His face was without defect and cast 
in the lines of unblemished harmony ; dark, and enlivened 
by the fires of his penetrating yet gentle eyes, one felt 
drawn to him by that undefined sympathy which has been 
called magnetism for want of a better word. His hair, 
jetty black and slightly curling in that iron wave which 
might be called the Roman curl, was worn just long enough 
to give the subtle charm and mystic light to his counte- 
nance which has been named Byronic. His smile was an 
illumination, bringing out all the fineness and expression 
of his features and investing them with the glamour of 
power and indescribable fascination. In all there was 
left a sense of what cannot exactly be called fear, but of 
something which impressed the beholder with the thought 
of the workings of a spirit, not trammeled by authority and 
not daunted by awe ; an intellect bold and daring, not bor- 
rowing from the times which have been or are to be, but 
self-creating and proudly self-sustaining, confident in na- 
tive strength and relying on its own resources, not feeling 
weakness nor touched by sympathy, but owning the pity 
of a higher being — above the bursts of passion, the plead- 
ing of tears. 

His earnestness and conviction produced the same feel- 
ings in those who heard him, and those who admired his 
magnificent intellect, displayed and vivified in the torrent 
of his rapid words, were attracted and won by the subtle 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


47 


framework of close-woven argument which underlay the 
whole. It was a pleasure to listen to the novelties and 
beautiful forms which language was made to assume, to 
the dry facts, which, arranged and enlivened by his glow- 
ing imagination, spread out before one, taking" on ail the 
charm of romantic fervor and interest. Other men could 
provoke tears or call forth bursts of rapturous laughter, 
he alone bore one along by the might of fiery spirit, by 
the irresistible force of sheer intellectual power. 

Those of the little audience, not accustomed to exhibi- 
tions of this sort, were entranced ; there is no other word. 
They had expected something of the ponderous platitudes 
or the spreadeagleism to which they had become used by 
having so much of them ; — the greater pity that earnest 
thought and glowing speech so seldom go together. They 
were enraptured when he turned over the dry bones of 
trite moralities and duties which had been said and re-said 
to them scores of times. They cheered when he spoke of 
manliness and womanliness, of the struggles and trials be- 
fore them, of the victory attained by self-reliance and cease- 
less endeavor. They were melted to sadness when he 
spoke eloquently of those failing and fainting by the way, 
dying without reaching that for which they had so ear- 
nestly and persistently striven. He was the sublime musi- 
cian and those who listened were the mighty instrument 
which responded to his touch, not answering in the mel- 
ody of harmonious notes, but with the sighs and emo- 
tions brought forth by the wizard master. 

New and delightful vistas opened up in the imagina- 
tion of Joessa as, in a moment, her ordinary indifference 
passed from her and she eagerly listened to the smooth- 
flowing sentences of the orator. This was, indeed, a rev- 
elation — to have such thoughts and to express them so. 
She gazed at the handsome face of the visitor, drawing 
light and happiness from the vision ; a thrill flashed 
through her members, an insidious fire pervaded her 
senses while she looked and throbbed in silent ecstasy as 
she listened and gazed. 

A moment before she had been a careless, frivolous girl, 
caring little for what was passing around her, untram- 
meled and fancy-free. That had gone, and her life was 
transformed on the instant, her girlhood, with its pimple 
pleasures and sorrows, had left her. The passions hitherto 


JOESSA ; OR, 


48 

slumbering unsuspected had waked to full life, insatiate 
and domineering. The past fell from her. withered and 
shriveled — in a second of time she had passed from child- 
hood to womanhood — love had changed and enlightened 
her — she thrilled with the emotions of full maturity — to 
the first great love of the woman. 

For a moment, the mass of heads in front of her 
parted, and through the alley thus formed, face to face, 
she met the eyes of the stranger. The language of the 
soul told each one, in that glance, that they were strangers 
no longer — leaving the floods of the unknown, they had 
emerged from the depths and met there as those who had 
long seen and known each other ; — with the start of the 
waker, Joessa felt that now her destiny was accomplished 
— she had met her affinity. 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


49 


CHAPTER VI. 

“You have many promising young gentlemen and 
ladies here,” remarked Palmer to the President of the in- 
stitution as they stood talking after the exercises. 

“ I hope so,” was the reply. “In our preparation for 
life we rely more on the moral than on the intellectual 
qualities, and our training is specially directed to the 
cultivation of the former.” 

“ Such should be the object of all true education,” he 
answered. “ It has always been a great question with me, 
and a most puzzling one to answer, what would be the re- 
sult of purely intellectual culture without a hint of the 
principles of morality which lie at the basis of all society. 
Would the product be a monster of vice, as some assert, 
or would he be able to construct from his mental powers 
alone something of that which we gain from experience 
and revelation ? ” 

“It would certainly be a difficult question to answer in 
its entirety,” said the Professor who was content to take 
things as they were transmitted to him without searching 
into the whys and wherefores. “ There is something 
cruel in the suggestion ; it reminds me of the lawless des- 
potism of the Egyptian king, Psammetichos, who was will- 
ing to sacrifice innocent lives to his curiosity, as he did 
when he confined children till they were mature merely to 
ascertain what was the primitive language. Speculative 
research, as such, begets no crime, but the dreamer, 
thrown into active life, is too apt to deal with flesh and 
blood as he has dealt with shadows which feel no 
suffering.” 

Others of the professors and students came around 
them ; many were presented to Palmer, as is common on 
such occasions. For all he had a pleasant word and smile, 
often an appropriate sentence or two. Among the young 
ladies was Joessa. As he spoke to her his eyes glowed 
with a softer light, and there was an increased cordiality 
4 


50 


JOESSA ; OR, 


in his manner as he made some commonplace observations 
about her surroundings and studies. She floated, it 
seemed to her, in a mist while he spoke, so confused was 
she with her emotions, so thrilled by his -words. She an- 
swered as best she could, but blushed at the inaptitude of 
her replies. She had thought of saying something bright 
and witty, so as to attract his attention, if she should have 
the chance of speaking to him. Now, that the occasion 
was present, she was startled by the harshness of her 
voice, the awkwardness of her maimers, the difficulty she 
found in uttering the poorest monosyllables. 

He stood before her like a model of olden knighthood, 
she was the peasant maiden Jacking in all, even in suitable 
apparel. It was by no means the smallest cause of her 
embarrassment to think that now, when she would have 
liked to appear among the rest clad in silk and jewels, she 
was not dressed as well as she should have been. It was 
true that her garb was neat, but the material of her 
clothes was rather coarse as compared with that of some 
few of her companions, and she would have been so pleased 
to have outshone them all. 

The hero may be glorious in dirty or ragged garments, 
the heroine is always at a disadvantage if her clothes don't 
fit well. A man may forget that his collar is awry and 
that his hat is not of the latest fashion ; in spite of it he 
can go on and make a favorable impression, he may know 
it without its affecting his mental powers in the least ; 
but when a woman has a suspicion that her hair is the 
least bit rumpled or that a pin, skilfully used to conceal 
a rent in her sleeve, is coming out and thus makes worse 
what it should have bettered, she becomes completely dis- 
couraged, and there is no more strength in her. 

So it was with Joessa ; she never could remember how 
she got through with it, but she ran over again and again 
all the fragments she could recollect — corrected and 
amended mentally all she said and did and remained fully 
as dissatisfied with herself as before. Long into the night 
she continued at the hopeless task of trying to persuade 
herself that she had done passably well, but could never 
deceive herself for a moment, though many a time she 
stoutly asserted to her consciousness that no one could 
have done better. 

The weary, sleepless night, unless we except a few 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


51 


hours of sleep towards morning, finally passed, and the 
new day brought a duller but painful sense of bitterness. 
The opportunity of her life had come, and she had failed 
to grasp it ; was it possible that it might come again ? 
she eagerly asked herself with little of hope. A man may 
seek the fortune which does not come to him, but a 
woman is condemned by our conventions to wait in inac- 
tion and wear herself out in waiting, if need be. So it is 
that women have a capacity to bear pain greater than that 
of the strongest man — a capacity inherited from old cen- 
turies of suffering, forgotten or unknown long before 
Euripides first penned his famous lines of sympathy for 
the obscure and silent pain of womanhood. The exigencies 
of life have evolved two distinct codes of morality and en- 
durance — one for the man, another for the woman — is 
there injustice here or do different necessities condition 
this divergence ? 

Our minds are fashioned after the lines of hereditary 
models ; we judge in most things as our ancestors would 
have judged, or, if we are changed, it is only as a huge 
mass changes — slowly and with effort. The tendency is 
to inertia, the incentive to change must be supplied by 
physical conditions or by daring and reckless leaders, or 
the majority will remain the same. 

It is one of the mockeries of Fate that we are as liable 
to be injured by the granting of our desires as when they 
are denied. After the school hours were over, there was an 
intermission of three or four hours i-n the afternoon, just 
before the evening, when the students were allowed to leave 
the college grounds and amuse themselves as they pleased. 
Joessa was wont to occupy this time in taking walks 
through the village streets, which were pleasant, set as 
they were with shade trees along the sidewalks, or even to 
wander farther into the country where it was less culti- 
vated, and where there were small groves by the wayside 
which were sometimes unenclosed by the owners. 

Occupied with her thoughts, she wandered farther 
than usual till she was tired and seated herself on a log by 
the road to rest. For the first time since she had left 
home, a longing for old scenes and places came upon her ; 
she was tired with her strange life and new surroundings. 
She had believed herself sufficient unto herself in all 
emergencies, but now she felt her weakness and eagerly 


52 


JOESSA ; OR, 


desired to break away and be at home once more. Even 
her aunt or old Peter would be welcome, they were at 
least familiar and kindly disposed, even if she had de- 
spised and quarreled with them so much. She felt that 
she was utterly alone, without any one whom she cared 
for or who cared for her. As the sickening feeling in- 
creased in intensity, the tears came to her eyes and 
dropped quickly and abundantly on her hands which she 
had pressed to her face. 

She was startled by a voice from the roadside : 

“ Why, Miss Reynolds, are you here ? ” cried Palmer 
who was driving by. Sha dropped her hands at that voice 
which she would have recognized in the midst of Egyp- 
tian darkness, and tried to hide her confusion by affect- 
ing unconcern. 

“ I was walking,” said she, “ and was tired. I sat down 
to rest, but I must go on now, for it is getting late.” 

“ How fortunate,” replied he, “now that I have hap- 
pened along. I am sure that I am going your way, and 
you can get rested while riding.” 

She was pleased and flattered, he was so kind, so earnest 
and sympathetic ; he seemed sorry that she had worn her- 
self out by walking so far, and appeared to imply by his 
manner that he would be so very glad to talk to her. 

“Iam going to the college,” said she ; “we are not al- 
lowed very much time in the afternoon, and I must report 
before very long.” She was hesitating about accepting 
his offer, though she would have liked to have done it at 
once. It would have been pleasant to see how he would 
express himself in conversation, he who could speak so 
well in public ; then, he was so different from any one 
she had seen and must know so much of the great world 
of which she would like to know something. He was so 
cordial that she had forgotten her fear and embarrassment, 
and was quite herself again. 

“ That is the very way I was going,” said he ; “it will 
not be out of my way, and I should be so glad to show 
you some pretty scenery I observed while coming out ; I 
don’t know whether it is familiar to you, of course,” said 
he smiling. 

So she rode back instead of walking, and reached the 
college in a flutter of excitement, more interested in 
Palmer than in any one whom she had ever known, always 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


53 


finding something new to admire and wonder at, not 
the least of her wonders being whether she should ever 
see him again. 

Joessa was somewhat surprised during one of the inter- 
missions next morning at a messenger boy’s giving her a 
sealed note. Mr. Palmer Morril would be much pleased 
if she would care to accompany him for a short carriage 
ride that afternoon after school hours. The messenger 
might receive her answer. 

Truly there were flutterings and a flurry of excitement ; 
again they were to meet and it behoved her well to be her- 
self completely and not to fail herself again. Joessa had 
not confessed to herself as yet that she loved this man, 
but she was drawn toward him as she had been to no 
other. If they should part on the morrow, she would 
work out her destiny without him, and no one could say 
if it would be better or worse. Unknown to her there 
had been other Maud Mullers by the thousand, and would 
be thousands more in the ages to come ; she could not 
have the benefit of their experiences, but must make her 
own way as best she could, guided by nothing better than 
her own thoughtlessness and hopes. 

No doubt that the boy bore back an acceptance, and 
Joessa painfully surmised after he had gone that some 
words might have been misspelled in her haste, and she 
was not too secure about the grammar. It was unfortu- 
nate and gave her great annoyance to think that she, who 
had prided herself so much on her knowing how to spell, 
might have made some mistake when first she had occa- 
sion to put her learning to practical use. 

Time has a way of slurring over all such incidents, and, 
in spite of all her worry, the hour finally came and brought 
with it Mr. Palmer Morril. 

He was perfectly at home in making himself agreeable, 
and had been so long before he met Joessa. It was 
scarcely generous to use against the heart of the raw, un- 
suspicious country girl the refined arts which he had been 
taught in encountering the keenest wits and the most 
astute intellects, but there are minds so constituted that 
they incessantly struggle for supremacy. If, like Caesar, 
they are not able to conquer the world, they content 
themselves, so far as they can be content, by being first in 
some petty village. The craving is for dominion and 


54: JOESSA ; OR, 

power, if great things are denied small ones may be 
granted. 

Joessa would have been enraptured by merely gazing at 
the lineaments of his remarkable countenance, enlight- 
ened by the light occasionally flashing from his restless 
eyes ; but to the attraction of melting glances he added 
the eloquence of fiery passion, of laughter-compelling 
comedy. Now he retailed sparkling anecdotes gleaned 
from personal experience or gathered from heavy pages 
unknown to the casual reader ; again he spoke of men, 
high in the councils of the nation, who had been his 
familiar companions ; of fashionable society with its van- 
ities, its splendors, its pettinesses — its display of gorgeous 
wealth, covering only partially jealousies and meannesses, 
the eternal struggle of the low-born to ape the bearing of 
those of more ancient descent and to conceal their origin, 
as if birth conferred worthiness or wealth hid frauds and 
crimes. 

His recital was not marred by affectation or assumed 
superiority, but flowed easily and with the most enchant- 
ing air of bonhommie and companionship, so that the 
hearer seemed the most intimate friend of the talker. If 
he spoke of abstruse subjects, as he sometimes did, they 
were so simplified that any one could comprehend them ; 
at times there ran through the discourse words of tender- 
ness and passion, expressed as by one who had thrilled 
and suffered. There were times when he invited reply 
and listened with the flattering deference of one who 
learns from the person speaking to him. 

Timidly, at first, Joessa ventured to address the bril- 
liant stranger, but she was so encouraged to proceed that 
she was soon conversing with all the ease she would have 
felt in speaking to any of her every-day associates. Care- 
lessly and confidentially she ran over the narrow circle of 
her ideas and aspirations, always concealing with instinc- 
tive art the thought of love, but telling much of her past 
life and something of what she hoped in the future. 
There was no disapprobation in Palmer’s brilliant eyes as 
she developed her air castles ; they were not altogether 
as she had dreamed them to herself, there were some parts 
too ethereal to be told to another, some parts which she 
had not dared to confess to herself. With shame she 
slurred over in her mind the thought of her connection 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


55 


with Peter ; almost tried to make herself believe that she 
was in some way mistaken about it, it seemed so strange 
to her now that she would have liked to dismiss the mem- 
ory as that of something unreal which she had dreamed. 

She wondered if those grave, serious eyes which were 
bent upon her with so much interest divined anything of 
what was passing in her mind. She shivered inwardly at 
the thought. It seemed impossible to think that what 
was before her so clearly could be utterly unknown to him 
who appeared capable of looking into her very soul when 
he glanced at her. She often felt a guiltiness and sense 
of concealment which ought not to be, and her eyes would 
drop in confusion. Then the attraction of his magnetic 
words drove all thoughts of this sort away, she forgot her- 
self and listened eagerly in breathless admiration. 

This was a new experience — this admiration — or, shall 
we say it, budding love — love without wings as yet. There 
was all the charm ; the sense or nonsense of the spoken 
tokens were nothing, but all was in being near and hear- 
ing one who might be adored with the full fervor of 
womanhood, one who was worthy of being so adored, and 
she — alas ! — so unworthy. Worse than all were the 
thoughts of her present condition and the secrets she held 
in concealment ; with the tenacity of a woman in keeping 
a secret, and women can keep secrets and keep them well, 
she could hide so far as depended on her what she desired 
unknown, but there might be other ways of information, 
and she feared some impending fatality. The appearances 
might be favorable, but there is always the lurking danger, 
sufficient to cause inquietude, if never revealed. 

Thus it is ever with love — torment and pleasure, ecstasy 
and unrest. The new generation begins at the beginning, 
^.ot knowing how to take up the task where their prede- 
cessors laid it down. 

Their way led along pleasant country roads, over a level 
prairie which adjoined the town on one side. The roads 
were bordered by gardens and orchards, some of them in 
bloom, for it was spring. The roadsides were green with 
the white clover which grows so abundantly in that vicinity. 
A little farther on, the level broke into small rounded 
hills, verdant and covered with scattered oak trees, some 
in enclosures, some by the wayside. Joessa had no eye 
for the landscape, she was too much bound up with other 


56 


JOESSA ; OR, 


thoughts. In such a mood nature must speak sternly to 
make herself noticed, sometimes not then, as when at 
Thrasymene 

“ An earthquake reeled unheededly away.” 

After all the modern talk and pretended nature worship, 
the Greek was right when he made man the center of 
everything, subservient only to the divinities. The ani- 
mate is forever above the inanimate which assumes shape 
and beauty only by comparison with life, only as it minis- 
ters to thought and sentient beings. 

So the brightness of the sun, the beauty of the flowers, 
the voices of the birds passed unheeded. These things 
had interest just as they were connected with the living 
actors, and these were occupied with other cares. 

Joessa was floating in a dream, filled with unrest but 
delicious. She was drinking deeply of the sweet wine of 
young love, as sweet as fleeting — a draught tasted once only 
in its full intoxication, not to return or be renewed in the 
annals of time. It is a characteristic of young love that 
it knows no deception, suspects no insincerity. Joessa 
could find excuses for her own concealment, or justify 
herself without any subtle process of reasoning, but she 
never dreamed for a moment that Palmer could be any- 
thing else than truth and openness. She did not avow to 
herself the character of her passion by naming it ; she 
would have been frightened at the thought of its hope- 
lessness, but at such times one follows the current, not 
thinking whither it leads. It may be that her bold self- 
reliance and the visions she had dreamed of an affinity 
would have inspired her with confidence if she had had 
time to compose herself and to think, but she was wander- 
ing in a maze of new sensations and yielded fully to them 
without caring about the ending. 

Thus the time passed on, and she started when the 
horses again stopped before the college grounds. There 
was a subtle kindness in Palmer’s manner, an appearance, 
if real things may be judged by appearances, of something 
beyond friendship which drew her irresistibly toward him 
as they stood by the pathway together for a few seconds 
before he drove away. Yet he did not speak one word of 
seeing her again among the brief words of parting which 
were spoken. Then he resumed his seat and drove off, 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 57 

considerate and polite, but taking the fairer portion of the 
sunlight when he left. 

“ No word of return ; is this, then, all ? ” she thought 
sorrowfully as she entered the building, which had now a 
loneliness she had never noticed before. She ascended the 
stairs wearily as if exhausted by physical exertion. She 
seated herself by a window, after she entered the room, as 
if to survey the landscape, but, although her natural eye 
took in the scene, her mind did not perceive it. She had 
dreamed before this on that day, and she was still dream- 
ing, but the brighter colors of the vision were changing, 
and the somber ones were beginning to predominate. Her 
imaginings had given a color to things which thus were 
covered by a glamour not belonging to themselves but ema- 
nating from her own self. It was her own wishes and de- 
sires which had deceived her, mistaken as they were for 
outward realities. 

The old have learned caution by experience. Every un- 
usual occurrence is carefully weighed, debated on and 
finally settled as their best knowledge may dictate. 
Innumerable defeats have wasted their strength and 
showed them how weak they are in the balances of the 
Cosmos. Their chief characteristic, then, is fear of fail- 
ure, which we may interpret by the word caution. The 
young, on the other hand, are just beginning their quarrel 
with the irresistible forces which must eventually conquer 
them. No wonder that they are possessed of a full stock 
of ardor and courage, rising from failure with renewed 
strength — they will need it all. 

Poor Joessa thought and pondered, but was not able to 
decide whether she should ever see Palmer again. She 
was hardly sincere with herself ; you know how we gloss 
over matters and place them in the most favorable light 
possible when we reason a case where we ourselves are con- 
cerned. Cruel and pitiless in judging the affairs of others, 
it is seldom so when the matter is brought home to our 
own doors. 

Joessa occupied herself about very little except what 
she wished to come to pass. She did not trouble herself 
at all about the opinion of any one else, her own desires 
were of too much importance for that. What the world 
thought of her entered into her calculations in no wise, 
she did not care ; but when, from the recesses of her 


58 


JOESSA ; OR, 


memory, a noble face illuminated by piercing eyes, ex- 
pressing gentleness and force, rose before her in fancy, a 
face which she might never see. again, she felt that if it 
were lost to her, all the gladness of life would go with it. 

Then there was a sinking, a weariness which she had 
never felt till that day. She did not call it love as we 
have done, she would have denied the name if another had 
repeated it, but such misery or despair, springing from 
trifles, are the gift of love alone. 

Is it worth while to lengthen the scene ? To speak of 
a brain too busy with one idea to find crevice or space to 
admit another ? Of eyes sleepless and worn out with 
watching, moistened, it may be, with secret tears ? Such 
things are and have been, and Joessa was not more fortu- 
nate than others in escaping from the pains brought on 
by wilfulness or folly, or, it may be, by the condition of 
her existence. The Cosmos lays down laws freighted, 
each, with its own peculiar penalty, and, from the begin- 
ning of time, no eye has witnessed the escape of the 
criminal. Some have preached remission, repentance and 
atonement ; the suffering for another’s error is generous — 
godlike, but the violator of the law pays the penalty 
whatever may be the pain brought upon others ; repent- 
ance and contrition are priceless in that they soften the 
heart and amend the offender, but, when the law is vio- 
lated, the sentence is passed, and from it there is no ap- 
peal or recall ; remission is the ignis fatuus of hope — 
promises paid in the cheating coin of futurity, the dark- 
ness is silent or gives forth only deceiving voices ; let not 
the felon trust in these, but look around him and point 
out the transgressor who has broken a cosmic law and 
boasts in impunity. But ignorance, folly and weakness 
suffer from no fault of their own commission ? Not so, 
for by its laws the Cosmos pronounces ignorance, folly 
and weakness crimes. In the Universe guided by uni- 
formity there is no exception nor extenuation. 

The next day, going from one of her classes, Joessa 
was surprised by the same messenger boy bringing a mes- 
sage. It was from the same person and had the same 
import. Thus the clouds passed away, and again there 
was sunshine. It was necessary to obtain the leave of the 
matron when a young lady student desired to stay beyond 
the regular hour. She was of a disposition rather tart and 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 59 

thought it was much better for girls to stay in their rooms 
and study their lessons than to go out riding ; so she told 
Joessa and intimated that she was going out altogether 
too often considering the state of her scholarship. Further, 
she stated that it did not become young ladies who were 
seeking an education to busy themselves with thinking of 
young men. 

She held on for some time in a similar strain ; Joessa, 
who had made up her mind from the first, listened with 
very little attention to the fluent homily, but resolved to 
go in spite of consequences. She did not stop to consider 
the results of disobedience, she had always consulted her 
own wishes and would do so now. So when her request 
was met by a flat refusal, she calmly walked out of the 
room without a word, but returned by the messenger a 
note expressing pleasure at the distinguished honor which 
Mr. Palmer Morril had designed for her. 

“ There is a charm to me,” said Palmer to Joessa, “in 
the green fields, which I find nowhere else. There is so 
much unrest in my life that I am only too glad for a little 
quiet.” 

His dark eyes said more than his voice ; he implied that 
another was connected with the gratification, and Joessa, 
who eagerly listened to every utterance, thrilled as she 
thought that there might be here some allusion to herself. 

“ I have always thought,” she answered simply, “that 
I should like noise and confusion, at least for a while, 
till I got used to it. People speak so much of the hurly- 
burly of great cities ; — nothing would suit me better than 
to see some of it. I have never seen anything in my life 
which was worth seeing, and I do so envy those who are 
more fortunate. I would so like to go there myself and 
see something of the world.” 

As she spoke she was unconsciously looking full into 
Palmer’s eyes, which she had always thought so beautiful ; 
in them she noticed a passing gleam of light as she spoke, 
a magnetic flash which drew her toward him without her 
understanding why. It did not lend additional grace to 
his strong features, it was not kindliness nor benevolence, 
but in that quick glance there was a power which shone 
forth as if to fetter and control. 

That subtle glance of the eye, joined with rapid move- 
ment and persuading tones, led men in willing bondage, 


60 


JOESSA; OR, 


awoke the baser passions of women, it carried with itself 
the impress of malevolence in power. There, perhaps, 
lay the fascination ; purity and goodness alone are too 
severe to make them attractive ; there is necessary a spark, 
though it be faint, of recklessness and evil. Then, there is 
a mixture to admire and fear; men regard with contempt 
what they think they understand fully, and do not give 
their complete devotion unless awe is mingled with love. 

“ For me,” he said after a pause as if a problem had pre- 
sented itself to him, “ there is always attraction in action, 
but, after it, I always feel the need of rest. Nothing is 
so pleasant to me as to slip away from Washington and 
its political strife and bury myself in some quiet country 
town. Even then I have my perpetual electioneering to 
do, so that I am forever in the midst of a tumult. It 

might be ” added he, but left the sentence unfinished, 

gazing at Joessa, not boldly, but with a look which could 
not be interpreted, yet it seemed to have a tender message 
of its own. 

Ordinarily this steady glance would have confused 
Joessa; now, she met his eyes with the fullest trust and 
confidence — yes, with the soul of innocence, for innocence 
cannot be measured by conventions, and it is the truth in 
the human breast which makes innocence or guilt. 

“ Who would believe it ? ” he continued as if question- 
ing himself. “ I am given to dreaming day-dreams and 
such queer ones, too, considering that I am so practical 
and in a profession which requires so much shrewdness — 
that of a politician. But we all have some grain of poetry 
in us, even if it has strange ways of developing.” 

This was such a surprise to Joessa ; in her imagination 
Palmer was the embodiment of chivalry and poetry, and 
to hear him talk in such an absurd manner of himself. It 
was so ridiculous that she could not help laughing ; it was 
a gay, happy laugh — a ripple of merriment springing from 
a heart which feels and has felt no care. 

“ To think of it ! ” she cried. “ The thought is so 
funny ! I never could think of you as practical or any- 
thing of that kind ; I couldn’t imagine you except as a 
dreamer or a poet or a knight or something greater and 
more spiritual.” It was the accent of admiration which 
is uttered by the votary who has found a being worthy to 
be a master. 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


61 


. A new light flashed over Palmer's countenance ; so the 
tired student looks when he has found the solution of a 
problem, long and perplexing. The strong and subtle 
man knew what feelings inspired the enthusiastic girl ; 
long before this he had studied the complex characters of 
the heart, and he made no mistakes when he read them. 
The skilful angler delights in his craft without regarding 
very much the feelings of the fish, and it often happens 
that one possessed of consummate skill exercises it merely 
for the gratification derived from the pleasure experienced 
in the exercise of power. 

“ There may be a strain of sympathy between us,” said 
he, as if involved in serious contemplation, “ which makes 
you think so. To most people and even to myself I seem 
very practical. But I will confess that, secretly, I have 
far different ideas from those which it would be so natural 
for me to possess. In all men there is a remnant of ro- 
mance which is deeply woven into the fiber of their lives ; 
it may remain hidden for lengthy periods without being 
suspected — indeed, it may never come to light ; neverthe- 
less, it is there, and favorable circumstances will develop 
it. I am not different from others, I have my romantic 
ideas — why should I not ? But we seldom, in such things, 
show our weakness by confession.” 

“ You have seen so much and know so much /'answered 
Joessa, with a sudden shudder as if a great space was 
opening between them, “ that I should think it would take 
all your time in remembering the pleasures you have passed 
through ; dreaming is too unsubstantial. There everything 
is actual.” 

Palmer laughed. 

“ You mean that the things were actual, but, it seems 
to me that what has gone from us is almost as ethereal as 
what has not yet come to us and may never come.” 

“ Oh ! but there is this great difference in that you can- 
not be robbed of the past, while you may be cheated out 
of the future. One hopes and hopes till it seems that we 
hope only to deceive ourselves, but if the past has been 
pleasant ” 

She did not finish the sentence aloud, but thought it 
out in the secrecy of her own breast. 

Palmer divined well why she left the sentence incom- 
plete ; he had seen too much of life not to know the in- 


62 


JOESSA ; OR, 


tense dissatisfaction which creeps into young lives, made 
worse by a vague longing for something which takes vari- 
ous shapes, but which finally remains undefined. He 
himself had felt it at an earlier period before gratified 
ambition had turned his thoughts to the ever busy present 
and given him little time for anything else besides con- 
structing fortresses to hedge against imminent and distant- 
dangers. Amusement and diversion consumed most of 
the time left him ; when one is fully occupied there is 
little leisure for dreams or remorse. 

“ It seems to me,” said he, continuing in a keynote 
which she had touched, “ that nothing can be nobler than 
high hopes which incite to lofty endeavor. What has 
passed I have always relinquished without a sigh, if there 
may have been some slight regret, and have turned to the 
future with the determination to meet what it might 
bring with calmness, if not with pleasure. Hope is a 
paradise, if we can persist in hoping, but there are times 
when an intense loneliness comes on and we wonder what 
it is all worth.” 

She wondered if he really lacked companionship — this 
man who seemed endowed with every desirable gift. Had 
all the fairies but one bestowed blessings, and had that 
one given a curse which blighted all — the curse of loneli- 
ness ? If there were need of love and sympathy — but in 
the silence of her hidden imaginings she dared not finish 
the thought lest it should be revealed by his searching 
eyes. She was drawn closer to him from thinking that 
he was not perfect and happy as she had supposed him at 
first ; there was kindred in the imperfections of humanity, 
if not in its sufferings. She would almost have been glad 
to witness suffering — not too severe — if it would be her lot 
to alleviate or cure it. 

All was so pleasurable that she could not properly frame 
her thoughts in speech, could not conceal what she shrank 
from disclosing, nor fashion voice and gesture according 
to the correct rules, as she understood them, of feminine 
art. 

“ There is loneliness,” she said sadly, “ but is there no 
remedy for loneliness and disappointed hope ? To go on 
and on and find no limit to disappointment and no an- 
swer to our wishes ?” Joessa was perfectly sincere ; the 
discordance between her surroundings and her desires 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


63 


pressed violently upon her, she could have found present 
relief in tears, but had still sufficient self-control not to 
yield thus far to her impressions. She could not prevent, 
however, the escape of a solitary drop which betrayed her 
to whoever cared to observe it. 

Palmer was eying her carefully, and the little particle 
of water told him its message. Doubt and hesitation, in 
general, were none of his failings, but, for a moment, a 
shadow of uncertainty had flashed through his mind. 
Was it worth his while ? But when he spoke there was 
no tremor in his full clear voice, but a thrill of sympathy, 
tenderness. In that brief instant the strong man had not 
debated as to the thoughts of the frail girl ; they were laid 
.before him illuminated and without concealment, but he 
had weighed, by a mental process, a question, not of 
morality or pity, but of expediency. 

“ Joessa,” he cried with a vehemence which startled 
her, “ there is a remedy for your loneliness, there is what 
will turn your disappointment into joy. Shall I tell you 
of its magic ? Need I speak of companionship and sym- 
pathy ? It is the object of your dreamings, the solace for 
your unrest. It is what you have been seeking, what you 
have not found. You look at me wondering and question 
me with your eyes. I can answer your question when I 
tell you of love ; that is friendship, companionship, sym- 
pathy and hope, — all in one and there only ; love compre- 
hends all and love alone.” 

In the glow of his passion he had seized both her hands 
and brought them to his lips — kissed the finger tips with 
fervor. For an instant Joessa doubted ; it could not be 
that such fortune — such love had fallen at her feet ; she 
was dreaming, but breathed as if holding her breath to 
avoid the awakening. A flash of light seemed to blaze 
around her as she dimly realized what it was and who was 
before her. She had no choice, no will, but, rising, fell 
into Palmer’s arms, shrinking as from something shame- 
ful and wrong, but convulsed with sobs and shedding 
copious tears. 

“I do love you,” she cried, borne on by overmastering 
emotion, “ since I first saw you I have loved you ; now 
that I know you better I love you so much that I would 
die for you.” 


64 


JOESSA ; OR, 


CHAPTER VII. 

Tempora labuntur, tacitisque senescimus annis, 

Et fugiunt freno non remorante dies. 

We grow old in the years — mute, while ages are falling, 

And the days flee away, undelayed by a rein. 

The Jones mansion was situated in the choicest and 
most expensive part of the northwest of Washington. 
The grounds were laid out in the best of taste and with 
no regard to cost, as Mrs. Jones quite frequently remarked 
to her admiring guests. 

Mr. Jones had been a wise man in his day, — he had been 
successful and made money. A young man, he had 
started with slender means, but by improving such few 
opportunities as offered he had risen rapidly in the world, 
and his possessions were counted by millions of dollars. 
To make so much money in a single lifetime requires 
genius, and genius of a certain kind Mr. Jones possessed. 

Large fortunes are made in a variety of ways ; in an- 
tiquity, the conqueror of a country amassed a fortune by 
selling most of the inhabitants into slavery after they had 
been shorn of all their belongings which had passed into 
the coffers of the great man. This was a speedy process, 
but rather rude and artless ; it bore the marks of sim- 
plicity and primitiveness, and could by no means become 
suited to the higher culture of later times. 

In after-times when the prince or state was everything, 
except when they interfered with the privileges of the 
church, and the people had no rights which royalty or 
nobility was bound to respect, the whims of a prince could 
make or unmake a man, and the royal favorite rejoiced 
in manors and serfs or whatever else his master pleased 
to bestow. But this happiness was not always unalloyed, 
for those of the slighted faction, with all their relatives 
and retainers, were generally waiting for a chance to 
quietly introduce a surreptitious dagger below his fifth rib, 
and thus bring his accumulated honors to an untimely end. 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


65 


Strangely enough these royal favorites were not always 
gentlemen, but it seems that ladies were as prone as the 
men to make fame and fortune in these corrupt courts. 
Some of them seem to have been as greedy of wealth and 
honors as any of their masculine associates, and to have 
been able to accumulate as great fortunes. 

These good old times have passed away for the present 
generation, at least, and if some of us succeed in bringing 
back what has disappeared, it is to be feared that it will 
benefit the future race only, since the actual one is mov- 
ing so very slowly in that direction. 

Mr. Jones’s money had not been brought together by 
any of these indirect methods, but was acquired in legiti- 
mate business, diluted by a little speculation. He had 
bought valuable patents from needy inventors as cheaply 
as possible, and often made large sums on such transac- 
tions. He- was forever in the market to buy anything 
cheap, and had sufficient judgment between what was 
really cheap and what was offered for little money. It was 
a guiding maxim with him to buy in the cheapest market 
and sell in the dearest — he only followed the advice of re- 
liable political economists in so doing. Bankrupt rail- 
roads were among his specialties ; the management of a 
railway can be so carried on for the benefit of those 
“ inside,” not the public nor the stockholders, that nice 
sums may be netted which can be made to exceed many 
times what one would naturally expect. In growing 
communities there are ever-increasing needs, and in an 
age of progress a good demand for new things to supply 
real or imagined necessities. The man who, by judicious 
outlay in self-respecting and self-governing municipali- 
ties, is able to secure the privilege of catering to these de- 
mands should profit by the transaction, if he regards his 
interests, and he generally regards his interests and also 
profits by the transaction. It is not necessary to enter 
into all these business affairs ; they are usually kept strict- 
ly private, and the great public rarely obtains proof positive 
however much it may suspect. But Mr. Jones was very 
successful and never claimed much credit for his own 
shrewdness ; he was content, like Sulla, with being the 
favorite of the gods. 

All roads lead to Kome, so, once the tide of success 
turned in one direction, it is apt to flow on in the same 

5 


66 


JOESSA ; OR, 


way. Tims it happened that Mr. Jones had become a very 
rich man ; partly by his own sagacity, partly by that 
occult mystery which some call good-luck, and. which is 
often no more than the effect of industry and judgment. 
He had now retired from active business, though he still 
took much interest in his favorite stocks ; his dealings 
were now more for the sake of diversion than from a desire 
to make money. We must all have our innocent amuse- 
ments. 

Mr. Jones was not entirely alone in the world, exposed 
hopelessly to the sly designs of veteran spinsters and in- 
sinuating widows. His good fortune had been constant 
even here, and he was provided with a wife and only 
daughter. 

Mrs. Jones he had wedded in his early life, and in the 
confidences of their home life he was used to inform .her 
that he could have done better if he had only waited 
a while. Such notions often brought on long discussions 
about the relative merits of the Jones and Bradley (Mrs. 
Jones was a Bradley) families, which were sometimes ex- 
tended to great length and seldom satisfactorily settled, 
owing to the extreme views of either contestant. But she 
appreciated to the full all which money can buy and was 
never tired of informing her friends how she spent her 
money and of the large sums necessary to keep up an ap- 
pearance. 

Her early education had been neglected ; she was but 
slightly aware of the fact, for she had been received in 
good society so long that she supposed that she had com- 
pletely mastered the tone and might be regarded as a 
model of intelligence and good breeding. It is unfortu- 
nate that there are some things which money cannot buy, 
or she would have bought these, too, — that is, if she had 
noticed any deficiency, which is problematical. 

The daughter, Rose, was a sweet and lovable girl. On 
the one hand, she had been brought into contact with the 
ostentation and vulgarity of her mother ; on the other, 
subject to the strict and methodical rules of her father ; 
in spite of both these influences she had developed, as some- 
times happens, a character of her own, borrowing little 
from either. Such phenomena are, probably, partly due to 
influences outside of the home life, partly, perhaps, to so- 
called atavism. We often see children bearing little resem- 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


67 


blance to either parent, but closely resembling an uncle, 
aunt or even a more distant relative ; sometimes the traits, 
physical or moral, cannot be traced but are very likely 
derived from some remote ancestor. Often the character 
of the criminal or the savage appears where we should least 
expect it. 

Fortunately, in this case, the charming personality of 
the young girl assumed few of the forms which might 
have been looked for by those who were well acquainted 
with her father and mother. 

A beautiful and attractive heiress is naturally the ob- 
ject of a great deal of solicitude from all her friends. 
With the ladies of her acquaintance this often manifests 
itself in the assisting, so far as they may be able, to marry 
olf the young girl as speedily and as well as possible. At 
least, they are prone to talk very much about her future 
marriage,' if they do nothing else. Her mother had de- 
cided that she should have some great nobleman, nothing 
less would do. If money cannot buy everything, there 
cannot be any doubt about its buying a title ; only a few 
millions may be needed, perhaps less, if one is not too parti- 
cular ; all depends on the quality, as in other bargains. If you 
take goods from the bargain counter, you may get a good 
article cheap, and you also run the risk of being cheated ; 
in such cases you must rely upon your judgment, but 
you must never expect to get something for nothing ; if 
you do it will be rare good fortune. 

So in titles ; if the title is worn by a spendthrift or 
a gambler, it may not cost so much at first, but one must 
always calculate upon after-expenses, just as repairing 
old garments is costly and is never much of a success after 
all the trouble. 

Mrs. Jones, having had little experience in buying 
husbands, if left to her own devices might not have made 
a good choice, but, although she had resolved that noth- 
ing but a title would do, the wishes of others were to be 
consulted, even though she had left them quite out of the 
account. 

For some reason or none at all, Mrs. Jones chose to hold 
a reception on a certain evening some time after the events 
previously narrated. The Mite of society were assembled 
in her elegantly furnished parlors, or were on their way 
there in handsome turnouts. It was a striking assembly 


68 


JOESSA ; OR, 


of wealth and intellect. Great capitalists who resided in 
Washington or who were there temporarily ; members of 
Congress and Senators ; heads of departments and repre- 
sentative men of all kinds ; members of the diplomatic 
corps and distinguished foreigners who happened to be in 
the city ; literary men and artists, and men who were 
neither literary nor artistic ; a conglomerate of many 
kinds, but of excellence as various. Mrs. Jones delighted 
in brilliancy and show, and she never failed to have them 
both at her receptions. 

Among the rest there was a small contingent of titled 
foreigners. A few were really desirous of learning some- 
thing about the great republic and its people ; some were 
more intent on personal profit in the vague speculations 
of the matrimonial market, which the common rumors of 
Europe said was plentifully stocked with the daughters 
of millionaires, willing to barter themselves and their 
surplus moneys for some rusty coronet which had gone 
begging at home. An alliance most suitable, since each 
party supplies what the other most needs. 

It may not be amiss here to mention for a moment the 
name of Count Antonio Cesare Balsamo, an Italian noble 
of somewhat decayed estates, but whose family was very 
flourishing and wealthy about the time of the first Punic 
war. The early ancestors of the house had been honor- 
ably mentioned among the rulers of Carthage, but the 
origin of the house was of much older date. Originally 
belonging to a princely family of Accad, in Mesopotamia, 
where they had settled not long after the flood, they 
were descended from Shem himself in a direct line of 
males. 

Being of a roving disposition, the head of this par- 
ticular branch had journeyed toSidon, where he had been 
well received by the reigning king, a forefather of Hiram, 
King of Tyre, who is spoken of in the Bible as a man 
of considerable parts. Through the friendship of this 
generous king, he became possessed of a very valuable ap- 
panage which he held in feud. It was subject, however, 
to a tax, payable once every ten years, of three black 
Ethiopian slaves and ten moon-faced maidens, all as fair 
as the noonday sun. These went to replenish the harem 
of the lord paramount. Those Oriental monarchs of an- 
tiquity were given to fantastic ideas and sudden fits of 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


69 


anger when their digestion was not good. At such times 
they soothed themselves by decapitating their favorite 
slaves, who were replaced by others after the time for re- 
pentance had passed off. 

So the ancestor lived in peace and plenty under this 
patriarchal rule, which was as yet unaffected by the refine- 
ments of later days, and his sons after him as long as they 
knew what was good for themselves. In those days Car- 
thage was to Phenicia what the Far West has been to the 
East, and to that fools' paradise all the adventurers and 
seedy young men, who had to make their own way in the 
world, were wont to go. Thus one of Count Antonio's 
remote ancestors packed up and went to the newly-built 
city of Dido, who had not seen Eneas yet, but was expect- 
ing him every day. 

Here the family became divided ; one son went to Rome 
with Eneas while the rest remained at Carthage. While 
in Phenicia they had mastered the diversified branches of 
Punic fraud, and had transmitted them all as a most pre- 
cious heritage to their thrifty progeny. They were always 
highly connected, and counted the most prominent men 
of the day among their friends and relatives. A member 
of the family was an intimate friend of Hamilcar during 
the first Punic war, and of Hannibal during the second ; 
indeed, the Balsamos have always claimed that most of 
the startling successes of the latter were due to the saga- 
cious advice and delicate management of this officer. 

The family had become enriched in the tin and slave 
trade which they had carried on with great success in 
Gaul and Britain ; in this connection it may be stated 
that in those times of simplicity no odium was incurred 
by engaging in trade, as would be the case at present. It 
is true that the money which comes by matrimony is not 
affected by the vulgar means by which it was amassed, 
and this is one exception to that general contamination 
which comes from trade. A small amount of money will 
not completely remove the stain ; but when the sum 
reaches millions it is as valuable as if it came from en- 
tailed estates. 

After the second Punic war, the representatives of the 
family, seeing there was little money to be made by re- 
maining in Carthage, bought the right of Roman citizen- 
ship by paying an extra price, these citizenships were at a 


JOESSA ; OR, 


70 

premium just then, and invested in large estates in Sicily 
which they stocked well with barbarian slaves. 

From this time, it seems, there had been some decline. 
The slave wars broke out, and the slaves ran away ; the 
Romans crucified all they could find, which resulted in 
much loss to the proprietors. But, by dint of close cal- 
culation and unceasing economy, they were able to buy a 
good supply once more and hold up their heads with the 
best of their neighbors. Some members of the family 
preferred life at court, and we hear of their witty sayings 
in the time of Nero and Caligula. These tyrants, how- 
ever, were ungrateful and were very capricious in their 
patronage of genius, for, in the reign of the former, a 
Balsamo was thrown to the lions because he sang slightly 
out of tune, and Caligula banished two of that name be- 
cause they were not sufficiently obsequious and preserved 
some of the spirit of the better days of Rome. 

For some time after this there seems to have been a 
gradual decline ; there were barbarian wars and raids of 
all sorts, heavy taxes and greedy tax gatherers, so that it 
was very hard to make both ends meet and carry a small 
balance over. They appear to have done this, which is a 
sign of unusual acumen for those days when everything 
was going to ruin. But notices of all these transactions 
are scant, principally because most of the records were 
lost in the evil times which followed. 

The island suffered a great deal during the Mussulman 
supremacy in Northern Africa ; the substantial citizens 
were obliged to ransom their sons and daughters who 
might have fallen into the hand of roving parties of 
marauders. Besides, their crops were continually des- 
troyed, and other sources of income lessened. The peas- 
antry were so poor that they did not get much money out 
of them by raising the feudal taxes, and, if they occasion- 
ally sold some of them to slave dealers, it was a precarious 
way of making an honest livelihood. 

To make matters worse, the Mussulmans, in their zeal 
for religion, conquered the island, and forced all the 
Christian inhabitants to pay the thimmat or capitation 
tax. They were subjected to numberless oppressions which 
made their high-spirited blood come dangerously near 
boiling. They were compelled to lay aside their arms and 
strictly keep the peace ; this was the deepest degradation in 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. ft 

those warlike times. Instead of riding around on pranc- 
ing chargers and levying tribute on their neighbors, they 
were forced to mount unsightly mules and obstinate asses, 
while their Moslem lords levied all the tribute, and took 
the money while they insulted the tributaries with words 
and blows. There were still streaks of sunshine, however ; 
we hear of two or three walis and several emirs of this 
family who had become Mohammedans during this period. 
These cavaliers continued the old trade of free booting 
wherever it was most profitable, robbing Christian and 
Paynim indiscriminately. They supported large estab- 
lishments and extensive harems in this way, and their repu- 
tation was discussed at Bagdad and in Egypt. Their 
ostentation sometimes brought them trouble, for Eastern 
sultans are generally jealous of any of their subjects who 
are getting along in the world too fast. It was an easy 
matter to send a mute or two to the man who was becom- 
ing unduly rich, tighten a bowstring around his neck and 
take possession of all property which could be found. In 
spite of such setbacks, the Balsamos flourished as well as 
could be expected and were always among the most re- 
spectable people as long as this condition continued. On 
the other hand, they had many eminent churchmen and 
illustrious statesmen among their ranks when the Normans 
drove the Mussulmans out. Frederick II. sent some of 
them to various commands during his crusades, and they 
could count bishops by the score. 

Under the Aragonese they were suspected of favoring 
the Angevin faction, and, as this cause was unsuccessful, 
of course they had their troubles. Some of them were 
scientists, and that was a very dangerous occupation in 
those days when science savored much of astrology and 
the black art. They were forced to pay heavy fines to 
Church and State, and lost caste in consequence ; but they 
yet preserved the character of an ancient and highly re- 
spectable family, and their acquaintance was much sought 
after in good society. 

When one of the Balsamos attended a fandango or even- 
ing party, it gave the affair considerable 6clat and an air 
of aristocratic repose quite au fait. Thus they gradually 
descended from the position of powerful and haughty 
feudal lords who counted their vassals by the thousand, 
to that of the leaders of fashion and the arbiters of the 


72 


JOESSA ; OR, 


smart set. After all, it was really an advancement, an 
improvement on their worthy ancestors who, with all their 
power and pretensions, were rather a rude set if tested by 
the higher standards of the present day. They began to 
lose the old roughness and simplicity and developed a 
tendency to over-refinement and nervous diseases. The 
ancestors were able to eat, raw or otherwise, as hazard 
presented them, fish, fowl, flesh or vegetables — from the 
deer and boars taken in the chase, to the garlic and onions 
they procured by pillaging the hard-working peasantry ; 
— the descendants became a neurotic and esthetic people 
who fainted at low and coarse suggestions and went about 
in the throes of endless dyspepsias. 

In the place of wielding the bow or mace and practising 
the stratagems of battle, they learned cheating at poker 
and bet on the races. They affected Parisian fashions and 
tried to speak bad French. They cast aside war paint 
and sheepskin overcoats and dressed themselves in silks 
and satins, cut and made in the latest style. In these 
various ways they alienated a great part of their estates 
and were forced to come to America to wed heiresses. By 
this method they repaired their dilapidated castles and 
spoiled the picturesque scenery. They had lost the old 
artistic instincts and had come down to the hard level of 
modern common sense. 

Such was something of the history of Count Antonio 
and his illustrious ancestors ; part he had told himself, 
part he had merely hinted at. His hair was black, if we 
turn to his personal appearance, so were his eyes ; his 
complexion was that of the dwellers in Southern Europe, 
olive and dark ; in fine, he carried himself with the 
romantic air of those chivalrous banditti of whom Italy 
used to be* so prolific, but who, for the last few years, have 
been trying to keep away from the officers. 

He was conversant with the ways of the world, but his 
early education seems not to have been a classical one ; 
yet his blunders were made with such refined naivete that 
they were a comedietta in themselves. His speech, very 
fluent, often deviated from the pure Tuscan when he was 
excited and took up the phrases heard in the commoner 
quarters of Naples or such as you may hear from the 
Sicilian fruit vender. 

Palmer Morril was there ; slightly older, somewhat 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


73 

graver, but, witty, eloquent and intellectual as ever, he 
was still the same Palmer. With Mrs. Jones herself he 
did not seem to be so much of a favorite as the noble 
Italian, but Miss Rose received him very kindly indeed, 
and Mr. Jones showed him all the cordiality of a promoter 
who may have a special scheme to get through Congress 
and understands how to treat the leaders of that distin- 
guished body. 

Mrs. Jones was all herself and received her guests, or as 
many as she could, with many greetings and a great flow 
of conversation. She early turned her attention to Count 
Balsamo. 

“ What would you think that piece of statuary cost, 
Count ? ” asked she, pointing out a beautiful Psyche 
hewn from Carrara marble. 

Count Antonio injudiciously hazarded a guess. 

“ Perhaps five thousand lire ; it is very beautiful.” 

His hostess withered him with her look ; Count Antonio 
was a favorite, but even favorites must not presume too 
far. 

“ Why,” said she, “ Mr. Jones paid five thousand good 
American dollars in gold for it at Rome, where they deal 
in all such bric-&-brac. Mr. Jones understands bargain- 
ing, I can tell you ; the dealer asked ten thousand dollars 
to begin with, but came down because he had heard of us 
and liked the Americans — they are such good judges of 
art. Besides, it’s a genuine antic. There are plenty of 
imitations, but we never buy anything unless it is genuine ; 
we can afford to. We wouldn't have anything cheap.” 

Count Antonio bowed deeply, he was visibly affected by 
the thought of so much money. 

“ Our gems of art,” he said in his imperfect English, 
“become very costly when they reach America.” 

“Yes,” she replied quickly, “we brought in our dresses 
without paying any custom duties, but we couldn't get 
out of paying on the bric-a-brac ; I tried it, but it wasn't 
of any use, so we paid like the rest.” 

“ The nobility,” remarked the count, reflectively, 
“ should pay no taxes ; it used to be so in Europe in the 
old times, but you Americans have brought in many 
strange ideas with your republic. The king, the nobility 
and the Church used to be all, and we did not regard the 
roturiers ; it was beautiful, very, very beautiful.” 


u 


JOESSA ; OR, 


And Count Antonio gazed into the far-off distance pen- 
sively and thought of the ancient glories of his illustrious 
ancestry and of the leveling tendencies of modern de- 
mocracies. 

Mrs. Jones felt the implied reproach keenly. 

“ It is not the better classes who are to be blamed, 
Count,” she hastened to say, “ it is the vulgar who are to 
blame for this state of things and will persist in making 
them even worse. The best people of the country would 
like to have things different, if they could, but they are 
kept under by sheer weight of numbers. W e lack the in- 
fluence of the brilliant court life which the European 
nobility have.” 

“It is not now what it once was,” sighed the Count 
most romantically, so romantically, in fact, that Mrs. Jones, 
had she been disengaged, might have run some risk of 
falling in love with him herself. “We are oppressed 
and must struggle hard for our plainest rights.” 

Mrs. Jones remembered that she had not drawn the 
attention of the count to some rare Gobelin tapestry which 
she had recently purchased ; at a bargain, of course. 

She eagerly brought it to the attention of the admiring 
connoisseur. 

“ I had almost forgotten to show you some goblins, 
Count,” she cried with almost girlish enthusiasm. “ I 
bought them at auction when the furniture of the Belgian 
Minister was sold off. He had been recalled by his govern- 
ment and sold his rare collections. These goblins I had 
a hard time to get ; I bid and bid while the auctioneer 
kept raising the price on me. I had the money and was 
determined to have them ; they cost me eight thousand 
four hundred and thirty-six dollars and a half. Don’t you 
think I got a bargain ? ” 

Again Count Antonio was lost in admiration as he gazed 
on the charms of his magnificent hostess, flashing as she 
was with diamonds and precious stones. She wore an 
evening dress of changeable green silk, slashed and gal- 
looned, whose low neck and short sleeves set off to ad- 
vantage her sallow arms and neck. 

The count looked lovingly at her costly diamond 
aigrette. 

“ I don’t care about wearing these low-neck dekolett 
dresses,” said she, “but we are compelled by ettikwett 


80 SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


75 


to do many things we don’t like. We people of the upper 
classes are the slaves of fashion, and I often think that it 
would be much nicer to retire to some grand old castle 
and live there in peace and contentment, where everything 
would be so refined and natural.” 

While she was expressing her pastoral longings, her 
various guests occupied themselves with what seemed best 
to each individual of them. Mr. Jones was telling a few 
particular friends of a nice little speculation of his which 
had taken place some years before. It had a moral, which 
was that often, some men are favorites of Fortune and 
have good gifts bestowed upon them whether their calcu- 
lations work out right or not. 

“I was passing before an auction room in New York 
one day,” said he, “ where the auctioneer was selling some 
land at a few cents an acre. A friend of mine had once 
made some money by buying up these cheap lands, and I 
became interested at once. I entered the room and bid 
eight cents an acre, which was an advance of half a cent 
on the last bid. The auctioneer knocked down the land 
to me ; ‘it is cheap enough,’ I thought, ‘ whether I ever 
get my money back or not.’ I did nothing with it for 
some years ; the taxes did not amount to much, and I 
concluded to hold it for a while to see if there would not 
be some advance. A small rise in the price would make 
considerable on the transaction, for there were many thou- 
sand acres in the tract. 

“ Some years after, a stranger approached me and in- 
quired about my land ; after some talk, he said he might 
buy it and finally made me an offer. The price was more 
than twice what I had paid for it, but I decided to investi- 
gate before selling, and found that oil had been found in 
the neighborhood, so that mine were probably oil lands 
and very valuable. In short, in the end I was able to 
clear some hundreds of thousands of dollars on this trade, 
which I consider quite handsome for a purely speculative 
venture.” 

Just then a gentleman who had won world-wide fame 
in literature came by, talking to a friend. He had been 
invited by Mrs. Jones and was unknown to Mr. Jones ; 
indeed, he was a stranger in the city and was staying for 
a few days only. He was introduced by his companion : 

“Mr. So — so, the eminent author.” 


JOESSA ; OR, 


76 

If he had been some operator in the stock market, some 
one noted in the world of finance or some railroad mag- 
nate, Mr. Jones would have recognized the name at once, 
but the domain of science and literature was as yet un- 
traversed by him, and it would have puzzled him for an 
answer had he been asked whether a Frenchman or a 
German wrote Macbeth. If asked he might have given 
a reply which could not compromise him, or referred the 
questioner to the works of Scott or Dickens. In this 
case he mistook Mr. So — so for one of the reporters who 
had come to chronicle the events of the evening. 

“ You do right, Mr. So— so,” said he, patronizingly, “ in 
coming directly to me. Whenever you wish an item for 
your paper always come to me, and I will give you the 
exact facts. Mrs. Jones has so many other things to oc- 
cupy her mind that she might be inaccurate or ill-informed. 
From me you will always be able to obtain reliable news.” 

An illustration to be added to the numerous others on 
the limited nature of fame. 

In the meantime Palmer found time to exchange a few 
words with Miss Rose. 

“I heard yesterday of another of those kind acts of charity 
performed by you, and which always appear so grateful.” 

Miss Rose, who had thought that she was hiding her 
candlestick under a bushel, smiled and blushed. 

“ Why, what charitable act have I been doing which 
could attract your attention or approbation ?” 

“ Of course,” said he, while his eyes took on that pe- 
culiar glance which they sometimes assumed when he 
closely scrutinized a person, but did not seem to be dwell- 
ing on things actual and present. “You are so much en- 
gaged in this kind of work that you easily forget one gen- 
erous deed more or less ; though your friends may not 
always forget them.” 

“ 0, don’t praise me too much,” cried she, flattered, but 
not exactly liking to have Palmer know how much she 
was interested in this sort of work, fearing that he might 
not altogether approve of it. “Papa scolds me for my 
not being more businesslike. He says that there should 
be business methods in everything, even in charity ; 
that we should do everything by rule and from principle, 
nothing from feeling, because we may make mistakes if 
we do. I am so impulsive and find it so hard to calculate 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


77 

that I am afraid that I haven’t much of a business head. 
I often wonder if it is worth learning ; 'tis so pleasant to 
be without care and careless that I sometimes have a mind 
never to be strict and methodical.” 

“ It is a beautiful Arcadian fancy,” said Palmer, “ but, 
like all fancies, difficult for practise.” 

“1 am doing finely in my Italian,” said she, a sudden 
thought striking her. “ You should hear me sing Italian 
operas or, at least, selections from them. Count Antonio 
often accompanies me, and he has a fine tenor voice. He 
and I generally converse in Italian, and he sometimes brings 
in such queer phrases that I am forced to laugh. My teacher 
was from Tuscany, but the count talks in his own way.” 

“ Ah, yes,” replied Palmer a little hurriedly, as if he were 
interested in the count, “he probably acquired those ex- 
pressions from his foster parents. Of course he is known 
at the Italian Legation ? ” 

“ He is acquainted with some of the attaches who come 
here,” said she, slightly surprised, but Palmer was more 
surprised at himself. For the first time in his life he had 
been undiplomatic and acted awkwardly instead of watch- 
ing the mistakes of others. 

“ The Italians use these dialects among themselves, I 
believe,” said he, “much more than most peoples. I 
presume that, from this, they fall back to the use of them 
more readily than the people of other nationalities.” 

Just then Mrs. Jones appeared with the count himself. 

“ Count Antonio has asked me for the pleasure of tak- 
ing you to supper, Rose,” cried she to her daughter, “ and 
wants to accompany you to the ballroom at once. I ac- 
cepted the invitation for you.” 

Miss Rose did not seem enchanted with her mother’s 
officiousness, but went off with the count. 

There was music by the Marine Band, the rustle of 
silks, the flash of jewels. It was the meeting of wealth, 
rank, beauty and strength, and there was joy and the sem- 
blance of joy under the gorgeous chandeliers, decorated 
and scented by wreaths of flowers. Then, in the glaring 
light, costly meats were served on Sevres porcelain, mar- 
vels of the potter’s art, champagne corks popped and Bo- 
hemian and Murano glasses were filled with generous 
wines. Light and joy and music and flowers ! but it came 
to an end at last. 


78 


JOESSA ; OR, 


CHAPTER VIII. 

With a single exception, affairs were prosperous with 
Palmer, and that exception might prove no exception af- 
ter all ; indeed, he, in his confidence in his own resources, 
despised it and would have laughed if any one had hinted 
at an exception. 

Congress had assembled not long before, and his posi- 
tion on the various committees had been much improved. 
This was a tribute due to his ability and political influ- 
ence— a recognition of the eloquence which with him was 
a potent instrument in moving and commanding men, of 
the matchless tact which never failed to remove or tone 
down obstacles, softening enemies and making enthusias- 
tic followers of lukewarm friends. 

From his public speeches and private conversation he 
was widely known for his abhorrence of wrong — even in 
its semblance — and his championship of the oppressed and 
downtrodden. A people, deprived of the ordinary rights 
of humanity, had risen against their tyrants, and the ques- 
tion had been taken to the House of Representatives in 
the hope of finding sympathy there, if nothing more. 
Others were cold, caring little for affairs which did not 
decidedly concern themselves, opinions were divided till 
Palmer took the floor. 

It was a field day in the House, and the galleries were 
crowded, as always on such occasions, with a careless 
throng who find it difficult to hear the speakers on ac- 
count of the confusion and noise, which proceeds rather 
from the size of the hall and the numbers present than 
from the sound coming from the movements of any one 
individual. 

The assembly, restless before, became quiet when it was 
whispered who had taken the floor ; there was no whispering 
soon after he began speaking, but all listened carefully to 
the words of the orator. Some of the members who had 
just spoken had been indistinctly heard, more from the 
imperfection of their utterance than from the inattention 
of the audienna, Naturally people did not follow very 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 79 

closely what required something of an effort to understand, 
but turned their thoughts to anything rather than to 
the droning of the speaker. Palmer’s clear, penetrating 
voice reached the ears of the idlest and the most careless 
with the sharp vibration of smitten metal. 

Those present were compelled to hear the well-chosen 
and forceful words of him who was addressing them. The 
sentences did not flow forth as if the product of super- 
exertion, but with a power, which, great in itself, seemed 
merely the shadow of what impelled them. There was no 
harshness in this smooth flow of ideas, but a music such as 
one imagines proceeding from strong beings — the steady 
breath of full sweeping winds, the currents of broad and 
deep rivers; not the fluster of storms — the fury of mighty 
convulsions of nature, but the irresistible majestic motion 
of tremendous masses exhibiting calmness and control in 
movement, invested with a power which, if exercised, 
could grind and tear. 

This was only the outer form, the appearances of the 
thought, the fashion of the sounds and words which carried 
the meaning — the life concealed but ever present. This 
hidden essence was worthy of the form which it vivified ; 
there , were the pulses of sympathy, the electric flashes 
which moved the audience with the orator. Whether the 
guiding impulse bespoke laughter or pain, admiration or 
pity, the subtle touch never failed to strike true. While 
others spoke one might think too much of the speaker to 
be moved by the sentences which he uttered ; one admired 
the lambent play of imagination, the choice expression of 
ideas, the display of intellect, but in all there was some- 
thing wanting, and the audience admired and applauded, 
but did not change their convictions. 

When one listened to the close-fitting sequences and 
aptly-drawn conclusions which were so finely drawn out by 
Palmer, a doubt came as to the justness of former judg- 
ments, a wavering in earlier opinions. The listener 
followed the line of argument with eager interest, loosen- 
ing his grasp on prejudice after prejudice as he com- 
prehended more clearly the facile steps of the brilliant 
and convincing logic, and finally yielded to the influence 
and gave full consent to the proposition, entranced by the 
genius and power of the deft weaver of magic words. 

In the glow of this excitement and while the multitude 


80 


JOESSA ; OR, 


hnng on his sentences, Palmer himself was not utterly un- 
moved, only stirred by a complacency at the consciousness 
of superior skill and greater intellect. In his outbursts of 
passionate appeal, he himself calmly considered the limits 
of his role and just how much he could depend upon the 
emotions of his audience. He noted individuals and ob- 
served what effect his words had upon them ; if they 
were interested and others with them, he kept on without 
deviating ; at the slightest sign of discontent he changed 
his manner of presenting the argument, or the theme itself. 

He finished amid bursts of applause ; the galleries were 
in ecstasies, the members forgot their dignified repose, 
rushing forward to congratulate him. He stood the 
center of an admiring group, receiving praises and com- 
pliments, due to no man more justly. In all those splendid 
sentences he had not stooped to move men by an appeal to 
their passions or their basenesses ; his appeal had been to 
the highest qualities of the intellect and the heart. To 
men he had spoken of generosity, nobleness and the virtues 
of manhood ! he had spoken to women of goodness, of the 
chastening brought by suffering, of the lofty visions of a 
better womanhood ; in all, nothing except of strenuous 
self-denial and the striving for noble aims. 

In the fullest glow of his triumph he glanced along the 
crowded galleries, and his eye was caught for a moment 
by a woman’s face. She was plainly dressed and altogether 
prepossessing. In age, she had passed earlier woman- 
hood, and the first fresh pink and white of her cheeks had 
been replaced by the darker color of middle life. Her 
eyes were keen and penetrating, but the glance did not 
convey the thought of a soul at peace with itself ; there 
were the care and unrest of which old Mimnermus sang : 

We are such as the leaves which start in the many-flowered 
springtime, — 

Suddenly quickened they grow, forced by the rays of the sun ; 
Like these for a span we rejoiced in the flowers of our youth and 
our pleasures, 

Knowing naught of the gods, neither for good nor for ill : 

But ever the Fates, black-clad and abounding in care, stood be- 
side us, 

This holding out for a bourne, age and the sorrows of age ; 

The hands of another held death, and the fruit of our youth was 
the smallest, 

While with his billows of light Helios passed over the earth. 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


81 


She looked steadfastly at Palmer, but with none of the 
wild enthusiasm which was around her ; her look seemed 
a little anxious, but was unmoved and cold. Faded she 
might be, but there was no mistaking the identity — that 
woman was Joessa. 

Without emotion Palmer's eye passed along the galleries 
in their rapid scrutiny and, finally, apparently found the 
object of their search. In the diplomatic gallery, smiling and 
looking down at him, sat Rose ; Count Antonio was seated 
beside her, romantic as the wildest bandit of Italy, but 
seemingly sadly out of place in his present surroundings. 

* * * * * * 

“ There is so much sadness in the world," said Rose to 
Palmer, who occupied a seat in her carriage, which was 
passing through one of the less frequented streets of 
Washington. “ I have been wondering if I can do anything 
to alleviate the misery which I see around me, but I begin 
to be discouraged. I can't do much, and what little I 
try to do seems to be wofully misapplied sometimes. 
People are so ungrateful." 

“That ought not to discourage you in your attempts 
to advance humanity," answered he with unusual mild- 
ness, “ we should strive, with what strength we have, to 
amend what is faulty and not give up in despair. There 
may seem little result, but we should not expect to see 
the tree which we plant bear fruit ; the universe works 
by vast periods, and we cannot hope to behold the end of 
a force which, once set in motion, continues forever. Let 
our endeavor be made with all strength ; then, if failure 
comes, it cannot be chargeable to ourselves. The united 
efforts of many may avail where one does so little that the 
effect is unseen, but it is not beseeming in any one of us to 
refrain from contributing what is in our power." 

“ There is some encouragement," she continued, “ and 
sometimes I am very happy at the success of my efforts, 
but it seems to me that at just such times the most un- 
fortunate things come on. Whenever I discover that there 
is so much good in humanity, I lose all faith by finding 
out that there is so much more evil." 

“We are forced to take things and people as we find 
them," replied Palmer, “ we cannot have an ideal world ; 
if we are no better than our neighbors, let us be no worse. 

6 


82 


JOESSA ; OR, 


As I grow in experience, I find that it is best not to have 
too much enthusiasm for anything ; I used to be very en- 
thusiastic but have grown colder, and do not have so much 
hope but rely more on my judgment. We meet good and 
evil, but it is not necessary to constantly regard the evil.” 

“ Papa often discourages me when I talk of my chari- 
ties, but gives me money and allows me to do as I please. 

Mamma ” but she left the sentence incomplete. Ilei 

attention was attracted by a sight not altogether unfa- 
miliar in large cities. Some men had just removed a very 
small quantity of household goods from a badly dilapidated 
house which stood in a row of similar structures, and had 
left them on the sidewalk. 

The probable owner of the goods was sitting in a broken 
chair and was voluble in her remarks. She was a negress, 
very black, round and fat ; beside her were two or three 
very ragged, barefooted children, the oldest not more than 
seven or eight years of age. They seemed to be in doubt 
as to the propriety of tears or laughter in the present af- 
fair, but hung on their mother in readiness for either. 
The weather was not very cold, but it was not very agree- 
able for these children of the tropics. 

The woman was addressing herself to Mr. Jones and a 
gentleman who accompanied him, probably his agent or 
attorney, with a great deal of vigor. She seemed to think 
that there was something wrong about the ejectment, and 
that these two gentlemen were responsible for it. In such 
cases it is difficult to make the intricacies of the law plain 
to the party interested. It appeared evident that the 
woman was improvident and had not paid her rent, so it 
had seemed better to the owner to clear the building in or- 
der to secure a paying tenant — a very ordinary occurrence. 
The tenements were poor and would rent to no one except 
negroes, who are well known to be shiftless and careless, 
and for that reason it was necessary for a careful business 
man to be very strict in his dealings with them. Mr. 
Jones was a very careful and methodical man and could 
not have done otherwise without loss to himself. 

In business one must use practical methods or be 
trampled under the feet of those who do. In the old dron- 
ing times one could have some sort of human interest in 
the man he had been associated with for years, even if it 
were only in a business way. In our present rapid era of 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


83 


development we have passed that stage of primitive cul- 
ture and deal with men mathematically, disregarding 
everything but the profit and loss. If a man stops to 
reckon with anything else, his loss account, charged to 
sympathy, gets too large and he becomes bankrupt, like 
so many other old fogy notions in this fast age of ours. 
We have gained in progress, whatever that may mean, and 
knowledge, and of this man cannot acquire very much 
after all, but there is still space for improvement. 

Eose looked anxious. 

“ Papa has very strict ideas of business/’ said she as if 
seeking advice, “and it maybe that we can do something 
in this case, if there is any real need of it.” She seemed 
to wish to add more — an apology, perhaps ; family mat- 
ters are delicate things to bring before strangers or ac- 
quaintances, but some women have a way of looking for 
assistance Vhere it is most apt to be found. 

Palmer considered a moment ; it might be worth while 
to do something here, but such matters require rare tact, 
and he did not care to exert himself, if it could be avoided, 
where the possible risk was greater than the gain. Cir- 
cumspection is never out of place. 

“Is it worth your while/’ inquired he, “ to do anything 
in this affair ? There may be little occasion for interfer- 
ence.” 

“ I wouldn’t notice it so much,” answered she, dis- 
tressed and blushing, confessing an unwelcome secret in 
spite of herself, as most people will do when the tide runs 
right, ‘ ‘ but papa is so strict in his methods that I am al- 
most sure that we may do some good.” 

There was nothing in this new to Palmer ; he was too 
observing for anything in which he was at all interested to 
escape altogether his calm, penetrating eyes. He did not 
care, however, to bring out more clearly the divergent 
views of father and daughter when he might be more than 
a disinterested spectator. It was an occasion which de- 
manded caution and skill, and he never shrank when the 
emergency came. 

“ It is possible,” said he, seeing that Eose had set her 
mind on investigating, “ that we maybe of service. Your 
feelings in this are, perhaps, a better guide than the rea- 
sonings of others. It would do no harm to see what they 
are doing.” 


84 


JOESSA ; OR, 


• 


The carriage was stopped, and Rose addressed some 
questions to her father. 

“ 0 well,” said he, “this is only a little business which 
you would not understand without a long explanation. 
“ These good people are slightly inconvenienced just now, 
but they will soon be able to find some other house to 
rent ; then they will forget all about this difficulty.” 

“ Have they any money to pay their rent ? ” asked Rose, 
abruptly. 

Mr. Jones was the slightest bit confused ; his daughter 
was wont to ask very searching questions and had been 
humored so much that it was hard to deny her anything 
within limits, even if it encroached on business mat- 
ters. 

“ I did not inquire,” said he, smiling and jestingly, “ it 
might have been indelicate, you know, to question people 
about their private affairs.” 

“It is easy to see,” she rejoined, “that they haven’t 
much. Couldn’t you have let them stay till they found 
another place ? ” 

“ It was too much trouble for my bookkeeper,” an- 
swered he ; “he would have had to enter a charge of eighty 
or ninety cents on the books. This would never have 
been paid, but it would have to be carried forward and 
posted with just as much care as if it amounted to twenty 
thousand dollars. I thought it would be cheaper and 
better in the end to pay fifteen or twenty dollars to have 
the matter ended at once, and have everything regular 
and in good order without any bother.” 

“ And in consequence these little children have cold 
feet and are shivering,” added Rose, sympathetically. 

“ Oh,” answered he, “ they are only negroes.” 

“How much easier,” said she, “it would be to confine 
our charity to those who do not need it.” 

“ 0 Rose,” cried he, conveying paternal admonition 
with his words, “ charity is a very good thing in its place, 
but, like everything else, it should not be carried to ex- 
cess. You well know that I give freely for charity, but 
it is all done with method and without waste, as it should 
be. Ho following impulses, no irregularity, but every- 
thing done with certainty and by rule. You do not im- 
agine the amount of good you might do if you followed 
my instructions in this and did not allow yourself to be 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 85 

carried away by your feelings. That does little more than 
encourage unthrift and beggary.” 

“ Well, of course,” said she, “ I haven’t all your busi- 
ness ways yet, and it will be some time before I shall be 
able to learn them. In the meantime how much is the 
woman’s rent ? ” 

“I don’t know,” answered he, “ the agent can tell. 
But you don’t intend to pay it ? That would be quite 
irregular, and you ought not to spend your money in that 
way.” 

But resistance was useless, and the agent figured up the 
debt at one dollar and fifty-three cents. A new difficulty 
here presented itself : Miss Rose had forgotten to take her 
portemonnaie and could not pay, and Mr. Jones, in order 
to teach her business methods, refused credit. In this 
emergency Palmer ventured to come forward and pay the 
debt to tlie no small gratitude of Rose, who promised her- 
self never to forget her pocket-book again. 

All this was merely preliminary ; the old debt was paid, 
and the books would balance, but a question now arose as 
to whether it would be good business policy to rent to a 
tenant who had just now been proved untrustworthy and 
unthrifty. In vain Rose offered to stand security for the 
amount ; her father refused to rent without a guarantor 
who could show that the applicant for the tenement was 
in the habit of paying rent promptly, and it was too evi- 
dent that this could not be obtained in the present case. 
To relieve objections, Palmer rented the house for three 
months, paid the rent in advance and left the old tenants 
preparing to go back to the deserted domicile. 

Rose was very much gratified at the outcome and ex- 
pressed her warmest thanks to Palmer for the manner of 
his coming in aid of her necessities. 

“ It is terrible hard work to be good, though,” said she, 
as they were returning home, “ and sometimes I feel very 
much tempted to give up trying ; it is so much easier.” 


86 


JOESSA ; OR, 


CHAPTER IX. 

The district which Palmer represented was at some 
distance from Washington ; this was of some little advan- 
tage to him, for the expense of coming to the city kept a 
portion of his constituents at home who might otherwise 
have made some trouble with unreasonable requests. The 
average constituent, if he supports the right party and is 
on the winning side, believes that he has a claim on the 
gratitude of his country which ought to become material 
through the aid of his Congressman. The member of 
Congress, therefore, is often kept very busy explaining 
why the constituent spoken of does not get the office he is 
looking for. He has a continual round of callers, some 
few merely to pay their respects, but most of them on 
business which means a great deal to them. 

The great genius of a Congressman lies in satisfying 
these friends and keeping them friendly ; for if a good por- 
tion of them become inimical there may be disaster at the 
next primaries or at the next election at latest. The 
shrewd politician does not count too much on his elo- 
quence, ability or good fortune ; there is always in his dis- 
trict a remnant who have become tired of hearing Aris- 
tides called just and are ready to vote against him for no 
other reason. These are forever “ agin ” him, and it be- 
hoves him to see that their number increases as little as 
possible. He must serve himself with the arts of flattery 
and the judicious distribution of patronage and find plaus- 
ible excuses where he has no patronage to give. 

The requirement of certain qualifications for certain 
positions was, in some respects, a help to embarrassed 
statesmen, for they could always silence some claimants 
whom they wished to put off by saying that they could 
do nothing till the requirements of the Civil Service Law 
were complied with. But, of course, each individual 
case demands separate treatment, and wo to the genius 
who errs one hair’s breadth — there is no forgiveness in 
politics. 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


87 


Palmer was entertaining one of his constituents, Mr. 

A. , an undersized, very nervous man, neatly dressed, 

with well-trimmed beard and mustache, flowing hair and 
wandering eye. He had just returned from Cuba where 
he had made discoveries. 

“ How long were you in Cuba ? ” asked Palmer. 

“ Three weeks,” answered Mr. A , “ but I learned 

the language of the country and discovered the secret of 
spontaneous generation while there.” 

“You are a scientist, then ?” he inquired with much 
personal interest. 

“ 0, no,” said he, “lam a business man. I found out 
everything by myself and without the help of anybody.” 

“ Then you had read books on natural history, on the 
experiments of Tyndall and the work of others on this 
difficult subject ? ” 

“ No ; ” exclaimed Mr. A. with great animation, “ I 
found it all out by myself. At first I doubted ; I was 
very skeptical, but I got over that, and now I believe 
everything. You are down by the seaside, by the rocks ; 
on the rocks are slime and mud ; you find an animal — it 
is round and bare like a skull. You pick it up, it is 
heavy ; you hold it out in the sun — puff ! It is lighter — 
it has no weight — it is like a dry sponge. That is spon- 
taneous generation.” 

“ It is queer,” remarked Palmer with an air of interest. 

“ Again,” said Mr. A , proceeding breathlessly at the 

thought of the phenomenon, “ you look at the rocks when 
they are wet. There are drops like ink, they come to 
gether — they move — it is like a spider — that is spontan- 
eous generation. It is wonderful ; I am all belief.” 

“ It seems strange,” answered Palmer, “ but I don’t 
quite understand it all ; you shall explain when we have 
more time. Perhaps it would be better for you to repeat 
your experiments and make more exact notes and publish 
your discoveries ; then every one could profit by them.” 

Mr. A seized his hat in the greatest haste. 

“ I had forgotten that ; I will go back to-morrow and 
find out all about it and let you know,” and he was gone 
on the instant. 

Mr. B was another of Palmer’s callers that day. 

He was a country lawyer in a small town of the Congres- 
sional District represented by the latter. As his business 


88 


JOESSA ; OR, 


did not occupy all his time, he devoted what he could spare, 
no small part, to the discussion of politics, which demanded 
no study, and to the discussion and study of metaphysical 
philosophy, which seemed more abstruse. In politics 
he had unlimited faith in the men and measures of his 
own party ; in this respect he was an optimist. In meta- 
physics he had entangled himself in the mazes of unbelief 
and was more of a skeptic then Pyrrho ; he had lost hope 
in himself and everybody else, and had become a most con- 
firmed pessimist. 

He could not be ignored or passed over lightly, for his 
townspeople looked upon him as a man of wonderful 
intellect ; so he was a fixture in every convention in the 
district, and generally held a place on the central com- 
mittee. 

Palmer was very glad, indeed, to see him ; he inquired 
about his old friends and was much pleased at hearing of 
their continued good health ; he hoped that the harmony 
in the party ranks continued unbroken, since that alone 
led to victory. 

Mr. B thanked him ; all was as well as could be 

wished, but for the present, that is, till just before the fall 
elections, he had dropped politics and was thinking of the 
position of man in the universe and his future destiny, 
besides other matters connected with these two great 
subjects. 

Palmer was, of course, much interested but had not 
sufficiently familiarized himself with the matter in all its 
bearings ; his time had been much occupied of late, and 
the leisure to read up had been wanting. 

“ These are questions of common sense,” said Mr. 

B ,“ and need no reading up. The philosophers have 

fallen into every conceivable absurdity because they fol- 
lowed the opinions of others instead of talking to the plain 
people around them. Of course, there is a vast amount of 
prejudice to overcome in making people adopt one’s views, 
when they contain the common sense of a given subject. 
They have always been guided by the opinions of some one 
else, and if one wishes to substitute his own, they object ; 
people instinctively oppose novelties. One must take the 
plain natural idea of anything and follow that, nothing 
else ; when one follows someone else, he’s wrong and he’d 
better get on the right track. 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


89 


“Now here's where the old philosophers and Fathers of 
the Church made a mistake ; they took the thoughts of 
others at second hand instead of thinking for themselves, 
and they made a mess of it. They divided up into schools 
and sects, each of which blindly followed th q ipse dixit of 
some old fellow whom probably, they had never seen and 
barely heard of. They couldn't question him about the 
whys and wherefores of his tenets, and arrange them 
after the dictates of common sense ; so they made a mess 
of it." 

“ There must-have been some originality of thought in 
the first place," said Palmer, “ if not, we should have no 
divergent views." 

“ 0, well," answered Mr. B , “ they didn't take the 

modern view of the matter ; they were behind the times 
and needed a little brushing up. We've got ahead of all 
that and discovered evolution and a lot more of the same 
sort. As a conclusion, we have found that everything is 
fixed and must be so by necessity ; this does away with 
the old theological notion of sin and so on. Everything 
is indifferent except as it is valuable in preserving the life 
of the species or the individual ; if it is useful to life, it 
is virtue ; if injurious, evil or sin. So that here we have 
the golden rule : Do what shall preserve your own life or 
the life of your race (incidentally, lie, steal, murder, etc. 
if it falls within these lines), all previous conceptions of 
good and bad, right and wrong are erroneous." 

“ These new doctrines do away with the old creeds ? " 
said Palmer interrogatively. 

“The old creeds were originally tests to distinguish the 
followers of one philosopher from another ; they were, at 
first, only chance guesses at the truth which people came 
in time to venerate for their antiquity. The old will 
always commands a certain degree of respect. They 
originated with the Greeks and were adopted by the early 
Christians when they diluted their simple notions with 
pagan learning and philosophy. The prime mistake of 
Christianity was making a creed their shibboleth ; as long 
as nature makes men different it is a hard task to undo 
her work by using a strait jacket to fashion all men's 
minds in the same mold. This has been the great source 
of strife for the last two thousand years ; it hasn't accom- 
plished much yet except these bickerings." 


90 


JOESSA ; OR, 


“ You are prolific in ideas,” said Palmer, without caring 
to commit himself further. 

“I have many thoughts of this kind,” replied Mr. 
B with some degree of pride. “ My ideas are abund- 

ant, but my audience is small. I find that most people 
have ideas which they think are their own, and they are 
very desirous of forcing these on some one else without 
pausing to consider what is offered in objection. They 
suppose them original with themselves, but, in fact, they 
are wreckage which is the property of any one who cares 
to pick it up — the common inheritance of mankind for 
the last thousands of years. Now I come into conflict 
with all this nonsense and am denominated a crank, which 
I am without doubt for trying to bring anything into 
prominence which does not fit into the time-worn grooves.” 

“ There is always room for hope,” suggested Palmer 
with a quiet smile. 

“ Not for me,” sighed Mr. B with a weary look. 

“ Fve been tilting at windmills so long that I have given 
up. Man would now be at the lowest unless the indi- 
viduals of which this agglomeration is composed were not 
capable of becoming worse ; for that man has an infinite 
aptitude, so I have given up all hopes of ever reforming 
anything and have concluded to let things go on as they 
are. I wrote a pamphlet proving that Thomas Paine 
wrote the Declaration of Independence ; people laughed 
at me for my pains. I showed that Luther and Melanc- 
thon made up the New Testament ; nobody read the article 
except to criticise it. I demonstrated the mythical nature 
of the history of Caesar, since it was founded on mere hear- 
say evidence ; I made no converts. I constructed a new 
scheme of society, but everybody kept on in the same old 
way. All my endeavors in striving after good have been 
thwarted by the perversity and stupidity of mankind, so 
I have given up all beliefs except the belief that every- 
thing is the worst possible.” 

“ Have you seen all the sights of the city yet ?” asked 
Palmer, probably desirous of taking leave of his visitor, 
as the attendant came in with another card. 

M. B departed, and Mr. C was ushered in. 

This gentleman was rotund and comfortable looking, 
bringing with him a dream of champagne suppers and 
turtle soup. His head was medium, but his stomach was 


SO SPINS THE PLYING WORLD AWAY". 91 

ample, and his red nose and flabby cheeks hinted strongly 
of much wining and dining. 

Mr. <J was a promoter of anything which had money 

in it. J ust now he was working a “ scheme ” which would 
make a dozen men wealthy, provided certain privileges 
were granted them by the government ; it would injure 
no one and benefit a few. There was to be no advance of 
ready money, no increase of taxation ; it was only neces- 
sary to grant a charter and to give a slight guarantee as 
an evidence of confidence in the undertaking. For those 
on the inside there were millions, for those on the outside 
— Well ! they would be no worse off than before. 

The scheme was very popular in Congress ; a good 
number of Members had been let in on the ground floor, 
and it was the intention of the promoters of the enterprise 
that no one in a position to help the matter through 
should get left out. Profound secrecy would be observed 
throughout, and nobody would be wiser if certain deserv- 
ing men were rewarded for expending time and trouble. 
The Honorable Member’s name would have influence with 
members who were friendly to the project, but who had 
not yet given a decided answer. Some thousand shares 
in the enterprise might be obtained very cheap just now 
while the project was in its incipiency, they were sure to 
rise rapidly in value, and the chance would not be pre- 
sented again. 

Palmer understood perfectly. His nature was a com- 
pound of coarser instincts with higher impulses ; he knew 
the full value of money, but was as well acquainted with 
its limitations. He prized gold at all it was worth, but 
was not blinded by its glitter, for he well knew what it 
could not buy. He made no show of virtuous indignation ; 

Mr. C was a person who might at some time be useful 

— there was nothing to be gained by making an enemy, 
and he might bring forward a more suitable proposition 
another day. 

“ I will look into the matter,” said he, “ some time when 
I have more leisure, but it is not likely that I shall do 
anything to help yon this time. We public men have to 
avoid the bare suspicion of evil, and your scheme suggests 
something not exactly right. I will not, however, con- 
demn it unheard and will talk to you about it at some 
convenient season.” 


92 


JOESSA ; OR, 


The promoter understood Palmer as well as he himself 
was measured by the latter — his price was not of the right 
kind ; he might have the exact article another day, so lie 
departed, but there was no rancor between the two. 

Palmer always seemed under high pressure and in haste 
to dispatch business which had been left undone. Each 
one of his visitors soon detected this and felt that he was 
the recipient of a great favor when so busy a man gave up 
a part of his valuable time to further the interests of one 
of his friends. There was no arrogance in this assump- 
tion, but it impressed itself upon one, and the receiver of 
the favor was generally affected with proper gratitude. 

Mr. D was a social reformer who did not despair of 

the republic if his ideas of good government were put in 
practise. He had lost faith in the individual working out 
his own salvation, but had unbounded trust in him if he 
were supported by government aid and subsidy. His 
system involved radical changes in a structure which had 
been erected by the joint contributions of a thousand 
generations, or its complete destruction ; yet he viewed 
the prospect quite cheerfully, if not with the delight of a 
child who pulls down a house of blocks to laugh among 
its ruins. The wisdom and experience, evolved in the 
slow ages, he considered slight compared to that stored in 
his single brain, and he desired to bless his own people 
and time with the products of that laboratory. 

How little account has been made of the development 
of the ego, and how inane is everything not measured 
from this standpoint ! Of the millions of men who have 
lived and died, how very few have ever aroused themselves 
to the fact of their own insignificance. Read the deeds 
of men, reflect upon them and gather the results of your 
studies ; add to this the little you may chance to see of 
life and the men around you, and you will always note the 
predominance of the eternal /, seldom the occurrence of 
the eternal you except as it collides with the chief thing. 
Truly, this is the survival of a naive primitive idea — the 
"deification of baseness. 

This is the everlasting mainspring of action ; often 
thinly disguised as altruism, but always with the same 
feelings and the same aims. It is the "foundation of all 
hopes, thoughts, religions ; an ignoble foundation, but 
the base of everything is in the mire, and it is better to 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


93 


have nothing at all rather than what is imperfect. Remove 
this and you have the perfect man, tear down the old 
and the new will be beautiful and perfect ; regeneration 
must be preceded by destruction ; when you have com- 
pletely destroyed the past, you may hope for the future. 
Destruction is the purifying flame, that only changes but 
annihilates nothing. 

So Mr. D rattled out his glib and interminable 

theories, while Palmer courteously listened, as if all was 
new and proper and just. He had the air of being kept 
away from business, very important indeed, but which he 
cheerfully gave up for the pleasure of hearing these fine- 
spun speeches, such as no man ever thought of before. 
It was charming in the abstract and charming to his com- 
panion, who finally gave place to another — the student son 
of one of his most influential supporters. 

After the Cares, the Graces ; after politics and philos- 
ophy, poesy. Hot welcome, for the Muses have fallen on 
barren times, and their votaries speak to dull ears. The 
age is utilitarian, and, where the finer tastes are indulged 
in, they go out to the ornamentation of the body, not so 
often to that of the mind. We are too primitive yet to 
give ourselves wholly to mental pleasures, too near our 
savage ancestors. 

The Greek found delight in poetry, music and the fine 
arts ; the Roman, in gluttony, drunkenness, gladiatorial 
shows and other savage spectacles. Why ? The primeval 
barbarism had become diluted in the Greek, but had still 
much of its pristine purity in the Roman. With the 
moderns, there is yet abundance of savagery, but it is 
widely diffused and appears in most unexpected quarters ; 
it has been toned down in some measure, and skilfully 
concealed where this has been possible, but we have it 
with us yet and it is forever showing itself in different 
forms. 

It is not the quality of the material which makes so- 
called poetry as much as the condition of the mind ; a 
vitiated taste produces admiration for the worst trash and 
the baldest conceits. The judgment is deceived because 
it admires ingenuity instead of simple and direct thought, 
and mistakes epigrammatic expression for power. The 
loftiest poetry is produced in simple ages or by simple 
minds ; a pseudo-refinement revels in ingenious phrases 


94 


JOESSA ; OR, 


which it compares to jewels — jewels only to the mob or 
the over-refined critic ; and of the two the judgment of 
honest ignorance is to be preferred to that of conceited 
limitation. The barbarian has his heroic songs, the 
peasant his ballads — artless expression of feelings and 
deeds — seldom speculating on the nature of things or 
natural objects, but forever regarding man as the center 
of all. 

A later time runs into metaphysics, concetti, long de- 
scriptions of rocks, trees and mountains ; people grow tired 
of the endless stupidities and turn to plain prose and find 
there what their ancestors found expressed in rhythm. 
A fashion brings Deirdre, the verse of Smith or Tupper 
into vogue, and the erudition of the Dogberries of poetry 
is exhausted in finding anything so incomparable, but 
avenging Time writes them down asses without their ever 
suspecting it. They fish in troubled waters and their 
promised whales continually dwindle down to the smallest 
of gudgeons, so often, that, if they they should catch a 
real whale, they would suspect they had a minnow on the 
hook. 

The yellow newspaper takes the place of the ballad- 
monger and the minstrel, and the credulous public reads 
of brawls in the slums and murders in high life with the zest 
with which their ruder forefathers listened to songs of war 
and adventure. In the older literature, there was not the 
refinement of word-painting — that filling up of emptiness ' 
with inanity — which has been so widely diffused by these 
esthetic sheets, but, then, they did as well as they could 
with their rude appliances. 

There has been movement here, the taste has been cul- 
tivated somewhat, but the remnants of savagery are still 
visible in spite of the centuries of training in strait-waist- 
coats. The reporter is the lineal descendant of the bards, 
but unfortunately, the spirit of the age has deprived him 
of imagination, and he has become prosy, matter-of-fact 
and dull as the time he lives in. He is too hard-worked 
to compare his thoughts with the thoughts of others ; the 
ceaseless wear has converted his Pegasus into a worn-out 
cart horse which drags about coal-dust and rubbish where 
he was wont to bring chaplets of pearls. 

Mr. E , the next caller, had decided to make a call on 

his Member of Congress during a short vacation which he 


95 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 

was to spend in Washington ; he had poetical talents and, 
to make his call more acceptable, he had brought with 
him a specimen of his work. Of course, he parted his 
hair in the middle, was thin and pale, eschewed cigars but 
not cigarettes, was negligent of his attire and did not 
black his shoes. He had met Palmer before, so no intro- 
duction was necessary for a cordial reception. 

“ I am very glad to see you,” said Palmer, “ and am 
ready to serve you in any possible way while you are in 
Washington so as to make your visit pleasant.” 

The young man was full of his subject, a true enthusiast 
in his profession and needed no further hint. 

“ I thought, Mr. Morril,” said he, but hesitated for a 
little; he had prepared a nice oration for the occasion, but 
forgot it now when he needed it most. He had been most 
confident before that the great Mr. Morril would be 
much impressed with his apt and forceful sentences, but 
now that they were wanted they had left him and he must 
elaborate others entirely new — so history repeats itself. 
He finished abruptly, “ I have brought a poem for you to 
criticise, Mr. Morril. I thought it was pretty good, but I 
think now it don't amount to much.” 

Palmer appreciated the young man's embarrassment 
and hastened to relieve it. 

“I shall take pleasure in hearing you read it,” said he 
kindly, “ and I hope that you will not find me too harsh 
a critic.” 

The boy regained his assurance at once ; he felt confi- 
dence in himself, but with this was mingled the diffidence 
of one who stands in the presence of a superior intellect. 
The few words spoken had put him at ease, but had, at 
the same time, revealed a master mind to whom he bowed 
in conscious inferiority. 

“ Before I read it,” answered he, as a sudden impulse 
seized him, “ I would like to learn something of this art 
from you, if you have the time to spare. I fear that 1 
have undertaken to write without due preparation. I felt 
quite confident before that I had done something worthy 
of note, but since talking with you I feel a strange lack of 
confidence.” 

Palmer smiled ; his time was always at the dispose; of 
his friends, but his smile and his manner conveyed the 
idea, not obtrusively, but in a subtle, kindly way, that he 


96 


JOESSA ; OR, 


was only too glad to deny himself for the benefit of his 
friends. 

“ Poetry is a very large subject, and I feel myself some- 
what hampered in giving my views on it, but as it is said 
poetry and oratory are twin arts, I ought to have some 
thoughts about what is so nearly connected with the art 
which I have studied as well as my time and opportuni- 
ties have permitted. ” 

He was perfectly prepared to discuss most things, but 
did not care to obtrude himself, nor to talk so long as to 
make himself tiresome to whoever it might be ; he wished 
to find out if the young man did really care to have his 
opinion on the subject, and, if so, just about how long 
and what kind of a discourse he was disposed to listen to. 

“ I have read most of the poets of the day,” said Mr. 

E , “ and have looked up English prosody and this, 

added to what I know of Latin and Greek meters, gives 
me quite a stock in trade, so I bought a rhyming diction- 
ary and began to compose verses.” 

Palmer smiled again. 

“I am pleased to hear that you are reading Latin and 
Greek. If you desire to do anything of moment in litera- 
ture, you cannot dispense with a knowledge of these two 
languages. It is not necessary to run over the merits or 
demerits of the authors who have written in them, but 
the lover of literature studies them for the widening of 
his ideas as to grammar and expression. The conciseness 
of the Latin, the simplicity and copiousnes of the Greek 
can be found nowhere else. 

“ But, if you really seek eminence in this profession, 
you have only commenced your studies. Good prose is 
about half thought, about half expression, or style ; good 
poetry, on the other hand, is, perhaps, one third thought 
and two thirds, or more, expression ; hence the difficulty 
of translating it from one language to another. The great 
object of one’s study, then, should be what we may call 
the science of expression, and we must look for the best 
way of acquiring this science. 

“To obtain a perfect knowledge of the instrument you 
are to use, you must devote much time to the study of 
grammar — how long will depend upon yourself, but no 
attainments in this direction short of a perfect knowledge 
will suffice. In saying grammar, I do not mean going 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


97 


over the superficial or elaborate text-books of the day ; 
the writers of these books are generally like the traveler 
who could not see the wood from the great number of 
trees. Here, as in other parts of your difficult art, you 
must be your own guide, and if you are proved incapable 
here there is no use of going further. 

“We will suppose that you are able to supply the power 
of intellect demanded ; it will be necessary to make a com- 
prehensive study of languages and literature that you may 
arrive at the measure of the knowledge of grammar re- 
quired for the proper expression of your thoughts. What 
you have learned in college may be of some service to you, 
but, here, you must not forget that, inevitably, most of 
the opinions which you have heard in the lectures are 
those of mediocrity and, consequently, not worth much. 
A century will produce, say, a dozen original geniuses, 
and you will be fortunate indeed if you are able to listen 
to one of them. 

“You draw your inspirations, then, from mediocrity 
and will be forced to rely on yourself for most things 
which make or mar a poet. You will have been taught 
some elements as the spirit of your time dictates, what 
lies beyond that, your own native powers must give, aided 
by what you can gather in the study of grammar in the 
broad sense which I have given to it. It is, then, neces- 
sary to form a judgment of some languages and literatures 
without the help of any one, if you wish to reach excel- 
lence ; it is true, that all opinions offered should be closely 
examined, but the final decision must rest with yourself. 

“ Let us take up only those which are indispensable, 
for art is long, and life is short. The greatest writers of 
Germany, France, Italy and Spain must be read and the 
structure of these languages carefully analyzed, particularly 
the German, for English is, by grammatical structure, 
a Germanic language, its analogies must be carefully 
followed and those of all other tongues avoided so as not 
to weaken the force of your expression. The vocabulary 
may be borrowed from a thousand sources, but the skeleton 
lines on which the sentence is built must never be 
violated. The Germanic vocabulary should be chosen so 
far as possible, for these old words represent the life of the 
race for uncounted years, and adapt themselves to the ut- 
terances of the race centuries before the individual is 
7 


98 


JOESSA ; OR, 


] 


born. The child is born fitted to listen to and speak such 
words and follow a certain order of ideas, if you bring in 
a new arrangement or new expressions you create con- 
fusion, which means loss of power. 

“ In this connection you will be forced to take up the 
Icelandic, Danish and Swedish ; you cannot do without 
them. They, with the Anglo-Saxon, are the mother 
tongues and you will never know the power of your own 
language till you have mastered these. German is no 
substitute and German literature cannot supply the lack 
of the legends of the North. I particularly recommend 
the Icelandic prose Sagas, or more properly Sogur ; here 
you will find that simplicity and directness of expression 
found elsewhere only in the authorized English Bible. 
They are worthy of your unceasing attention and closest 
scrutiny. 

“Is it necessary to go farther ? So far you have taken 
only Indo-Germanic tongues, and have left out the San- 
skrit, which you should study if you have the time, but 
which I do not regard as indispensable either for its 
structure or its literature, though both have a very high 
value. It will be obligatory to take up a representative of 
the other two great branches of human speech, I mean 
the Uralo-Altaic and the Semitic groups. Of the first, I 
will rule out at once the Japanese and the Chinese as 
being too difficult and not being sufficiently useful for 
your purpose. There remain available Turkish, Finnish 
and Hungarian. 

“Turkish we will pass over as not being homogeneous 
enough ; there are too many Persian and Arabic words in 
the vocabulary, though the grammatical forms are pure. 
There are left. Finnish and Hungarian ; Finnish may be 
left out, since its literature, in my opinion, is the inferior 
of the two, although you might take that up, also, if you 
find the time. Hungarian is a typical Uralo-Altaic 
language, possessing the vocalic harmony fully developed, 
regular and representative in grammatical structure, 
borrowing few words from other than native sources and 
capable of forming words to express any idea. 

“ If is as flexible, harmonious and copious as the Greek, 
and. has an extensive and valuable literature. You will find 
it difficult, but the new ideas which you will gain in the 
{science of expression will well repay you for your trouble. 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


99 


“ A world of new ideas and images will open up before 
you. Here are depicted the monotonous but ever-chang- 
ing life of the steppe, the danger from the elements and 
the nomade enemy. There runs through all the fierce 
passions of an uncultivated race — headlong and un- 
restrained — developed equally in friendship, in love or in 
enmity. It is bringing coals to Newcastle to quote 
rhymes to a poet, but I cannot refrain from giving you a 
short poem from Petofi which carries with it a charm 
borrowed from its originality : 


“ Is this love within me, 

Or a fire aglow ? 

Thrilling all my being 
There is heaven I know. 

“ Do you see the crimson 
In her pale cheek play ? 

Is it twilight falling 
Or Aurora’s ray ? 

“ ’Tis Aurora, twilight— 

Dawn of joy for me, 

And the dusk departing 
Of my griefs will be. 

“ Not a primal passion 
Is the love I bear, 

But the one succeeding — 

And to that I swear. 

“ Love, an eagle, bears me, 

Soaring to the skies, 

But my heart his talons 
Mangle as he flies. 

“ Have I reached the end ? 0, no ; we have done noth- 

ing with the Semitic. Of the languages which have a 
literature, for our purpose, we may disregard all except 
Syriac, Hebrew and Arabic. You may drop Syriac at 
once, since you are not able to take up all, for though a 
mine for the theologian, in poetry, I may safely say, that 
it yields to the Hebrew and the Arabic. I might hesitate 
between these two if we did not possess the English trans- 
lation of the Bible, and this you will find one of the best 
examples of the art of expression in all time and worthy 
of constant study, if you wish to perfect yourself in your 

L.ofC. 


100 


JOESSA ; OR, 


art. It will not entirely supply the lack of the original, 
but will answer as a very good substitute. 

“ The grammatical forms and modes which you lose by 
not mastering this tongue, you may become possessed of 
by means of the Arabic. This latter represents an earlier 
stage of formation and consequently a more perfect and 
regular grammatical structure, for languages become 
irregular from decrepitude and old age. They form too 
intimate acquaintances with their neighbors, and borrow 
from them instead of using material which they them- 
selves possess. In the structure of tongues and methods 
of speech, it is worth your while to know a language which 
does not have a compound word, which does not use prep- 
ositions to form compounds, which derives innumerable 
words by internal changes in the verb and which has a 
literature entirely indigenous and borrowing from no 
other, reflecting the passions of the burning desert as the 
Hungarian does those of the freezing steppe. 

“ If you have done your work faithfully and well so far, 
you will have gathered an ample supply of raw material, 
so far as you find it in books. It now depends upon your 
native genius whether you sink under the weight of your 
learning and become a mere pedant, or are able to use 
with skill the vast material which you have assembled 
with so much toil. That is a question which I cannot 
answer, but to which you yourself must respond. 

“ I do not care much for so-called originality ; this is 
the common name for the odd and the bizarre ; star-dis- 
tances are measured by pocket-rules, and excessive merit is 
generally found only in imitations or monstrosities. It is 
one of the limitations of the human mind that it forms 
its judgments mostly after the dicta of the brazen impos- 
tor, and if you meet with uncommon applause, you will do 
well to review your work and see wherein it is wrong. 
In fact, there is very little new ; the materials which you 
must use have been worn by the thought and struggles 
of ten thousand years ; all this time man’s mind has been 
active, and he has left little in the material or immaterial 
world untouched. 

“ But, with what is old it may be possible for you to 
construct something new — an image of your own individ- 
uality — of the workings of that part of yourself which is 
imperishable if you may claim anything not affected by 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


101 


mortality. Your works will be a biography of your mind 
such as no chattering Boswell could ever conceive or write. 
However you may distort and misconceive the universe 
around you, you cannot paint the universe within except 
with the fidelity of truth. The writings of Baffo or of 
Milton show clearly the souls of the authors, and yours will 
do no less. Such as you are you must appear to your 
auditors, and your attempts to deceive them will only 
make your character better known. 

“ All this is merely the preparation, and so far nothing 
has really been done. You have simply placed yourself 
in a position where you may be able to judge if you are 
fitted for your life work or have made a mistake in your 
calling. You have the materials for the formation of 
taste, but you may not have that faculty itself ; you have 
prepared for yourself instruments, you may not be able to 
use them. You have studied human thought and human 
passion as it has appeared to others, of yourself you do not 
know it. To supply this want you must now quit your 
retirement and study man and the soul of man ; what you 
thus acquire you must now interpret so that others will 
understand you, and see to it that your interpretation is 
forcible and clear, but, if you have no message to bring, 
it behoves you to be silent.” 

And with a smile Palmer waited for the answer. The 
young man considered for a moment while he revolved 
in his mind the various ideas brought forward. 

“ After thinking it all over,” he said, “ I believe I will 
not go any farther. I will take up law, medicine, divinity, 
astronomy or astrology — anything that promises to be easier 
rather than poetry.” 

“ Perhaps you may be right,” said Palmer to his depart- 
ing visitor, “1 am sure you must judge for yourself ; I 
cannot decide for you.” He picked up the paper dropped 
by the young man ; it contained the poem given below : 

SANTIAGO. 

Foul prophets of misfortune— the vultures— hasten home 
To mountains whose cleft shadows skirt leagues of broken foam, 
Whose palm-clad summits waver faint in the distance brown, 
Or scatter wreaths of sunlight torn from the Summer’s crown ; 
White castles break the verdure where sweeps the tropic wold, 
Of cap the crags whose splinters were vent by earthquakes old ; 


102 


JOESSA ; OR, 


Ships, brighter than Aurora, call to the hostile strand ; 

And greeting, flung to greeting, bears answer from the land ; 
Amid the cliffs embattled — by thicket, fell and scaur — 

Trail on through slime ensanguined the dragon brood of war. 


Where Art or Nature fashioned the rocks for stronger hold, 
Above the dark defenders streams forth the red and gold ; 

In brambles where the outlaw his secret lair has made, 

The wily foe has planted his traceless ambuscade, 

Has cut the hills by ramparts and walled and fenced them 
round, 

And all by forts defended enclosed by moats profound ; 

Here bursts the cloud impregnate by meteor-laden skies, 

Here to the fiery mountains the star-flecked valley cries, 

Here day has lost its brightness, and night comes not— though 
fain — 

And light has paled in glory— defiled by many a stain ; 

And voices rise and falter, hushed in their fainting call, 

Where sound engenders silence and lurid mists enthrall. 


The stars by day undarkened shine through the growing haze, 
And pour o’er deeds of valor the light of elder days, 

And, torn from hands enfeebled, they scale the stormy height. 
Though hearts are struck by torpor, and eyes are dimmed in 
night ; 

Calm in the rush of battle with changeless light they glow, 
Untouched by human passion — unmoved by mortal woe, — 

Cold in their flaming essence — by hands eternal made — 

They bear a fond remembrance of light which does not fade ; 

As long ago they sparkled, so now their steadfast hue, 

Though Death strides swiftly, smiting the breaking lines of blue. 

No waver in the onset though cheeks and lips are pale, — 

Here glows the gold of manhood burnt in that fiery hail, 

The morning beam of glory far on the mountain smiles, 

And clouds surcharged with Lethe close round their thronging 
files ; 

The forts exult in thunder — the forests add their roar — 

The clarion’s brazen clangor— the ocean’s waves and shore ; 

Old Moro’s time-worn cannon exploding missiles bring, 

Ten thousand rifles blazing fire-bearing storm-wreaths fling, 

The fleets respond with echoes borne in on iron breath, 

The sun is dark with tempest — the sky is charged with death ; 
A crown of splendor glances o’er fields where ruin lies, 

And valor tramples danger when Honor holds the prize. 


These bands for battle gathered here mark their stalwart mold 
By mighty acts whose shadows in deathless words are told, 
And weaker hearts exalted will emulate their fires — 

The flame enkindled dies not though he who lit expires. 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 103 


“On to the crest! bear onward ! draw quick the agony, 

Fall in the fainting effort if wound or death must be, 

But bear the soul in battle our Saxon sires have borne, 

Nor leave that banner tarnished which other fields have worn ; 
The past its wealth has given, the future doubts and sighs, 

But warm with blood we offer what man may sacrifice.” 

Bring laurel for the victor with cadenced hymns of praise, — 

In faith, ’t is hardly purchased — this fading wreath of bays ; 

The favor cried and bandied is foam from torrent tost 
Which sparkles to extinction and falls — forever lost ; 

The heart of sterling manhood basks in a fairer sun, 

And draws its inspiration from duty nobly done ; 

But ye who hope or falter, if manliness ye prize, 

Guard in your hearts’ recesses these fadeless memories ; 

Build shrines in viewless temples which Fancy’s eyes behold, 
And treasure in remembrance till thought and sense are cold. 

Bring sighs and tears ! in silence — not dazed nor mute — they lie — 
The torrid blaze afflicts not, the vultures sailing by, 

The rack swept from the ocean, the bursts of wind and rain, — 
Rest fills their wounds with balsam and gives surcease to pain ; 
What man can give they offered, but strength and effort failed, 
Fate’s fixed decrees — too stubborn — their force in vain assailed, 
But truer hearts ne’er breasted the storm by land or sea, 

Nor firmlier met the billows sprayed dank with agony, 

More bravely trod the pathway no backward step has tried, 

Kept faith with land and freedom than those who failed and died. 

I charge you by your altars ye guard this holy trust, 

While day’s fire shines unclouded, while dust returns to dust, 
While mothers yet unbroken the ties of memory keep, 

While Death is wrapped in shadow, while Earth has eyes to weep ; 
How much of love and laughter, how much of care and tears, 
How much of hope and grieving have filled the rolling years, 
While Time passed on, unpausing, to draw the perfect plan, 

And ceased not — storm or sunshine — to mold the growing man ? 
O mothers, in their childhood, with eager eyes ye strayed 
And spared not love nor labor to yield your fondest aid, 

Where southern skies encircle the ocean’s bending line, 

Where northern lakes are shaded by barren oak and pine ; 

And this the end ? — a barrow green on the sultry shore, 

The branch of withered laurel which hid the wounds they bore, 
A heap of silent ashes — a rudely graven urn, — 

This is the rest of glory — this Pain’s and Love’s return ! 

But here are annals blazoned bright on Time’s blotted page, 
Another torch is kindled to light the future age — 

A pharos lit in darkness to guide the coming years, 

The gift of manhood’s valor — the price of woman’s tears ; 

The mists which fear the sunlight fly, scattered by that spell, 
Their finished work the cycles of other years must tell, — 

Since life is drawn from travail and virtue conquers pain, 
Dream not that — shed for freedom — such blood is spilled in vain. 


104 


JOESSA ; OR, 


CHAPTER X. 

As the years passed Job’s early dreams had developed 
into something much like reality. He had striven after 
the ideal as the true sculptor or painter seeks it in the 
rough marble or blank canvas ; the material of his art 
did not promise to bear such beautiful fruit as that after 
which they strove, but it had been brought to fruition 
nevertheless, and had carried Job forward on a wave of 
fame and prosperity. 

He had not worked for money, but for the love of his 
calling ; money had come, and it was not unwelcome. 
His mind and body had expanded as the years had gone 
by ; the ungainly young man had become smooth and ro- 
tund, the results of good living and congenial companion- 
ship, a mind at peace with itself and the world. He was 
a comfortable-looking business man, indeed, with rubi- 
cund complexion and a full stomach which stretched to its 
farthest extent his ample waistcoat. 

But he had not run altogether to stomach ; his calling 
had taken him among men, and continual contact and at- 
trition had acted by polishing up the crude material, so 
that he had become shrewd and intelligent, easy in his 
manners and not much given to falling into blunders of 
any kind. In short, he had the appearance and manners 
of a gentleman and he would have been a true gentleman 
even if he had not had the appearances. 

He had grown in importance in his section of the coun- 
try with his increasing prosperity, and was now reckoned 
among the first citizens. He had married a blooming 
country girl, and his hearth had been blessed with a goodly 
number of noisy boys and rosy-cheeked girls. The old 
sawmill of his father had been replaced by a huge modern 
plant which drew into itself from the river a mighty mass 
of logs, ran them in a never-ending stream through a 
maze of gangs and smaller saws till they were transformed 
into finished products of a thousand shapes — joists, scant- 
lings, lath, shingles, pickets. Some of these further on. 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 105 


after processes which might take weeks or months of time, 
became sash, doors, blinds — whatever you will in the way 
of the products of a saw or planing-mill. 

Job was the master and director of it all; it was the vis- 
ion of his boyhood turned into substantial matter. 

It seems that those who have the supervision of poor or 
orphan children, or those who are even more unfortunate, 
sometimes take them from the crowded cities of the East 
to the West, where they generally succeed in finding for 
them comfortable homes with respectable people. 

A number of these children had been brought into Job’s 
neighborhood, and had been well settled, all except a boy. 
The guardians had come to Job to consult with him about 
the matter, as he had extensive business connections and 
was well acquainted with every one in the country. They 
had brought the boy with them — a timid little fellow 
seven or eight years old. 

“ I don’t think of any one around here,” said he to 
them after he had rolled the subject around in his head 
several times, “ who need any children just now. You 
see there a great many newly-married couples in our dis- 
trict, and we have a first-rate supply of children ; almost 
any age you would want. Old Peter might take him ; he 
ought to, for he hasn’t a chick nor a child to leave all 
his money to.” 

Old Peter, it seems, had been consulted but would have 
nothing to do with women or children. 

“ I suppose so,” meditated Job, “ old Peter hasn’t 
fared the best with the women, but there’s no need of his 
taking it so much to heart. He probably begrudges what 
the poor little fellow would eat, and might try to take out 
on him his revenge for the tricks that the girls used to 
play him.” Job sighed just a little when he thought of 
the old times ; he had thought that all was forgotten, but 
the old memories will rise again. While sighing he cast 
his eyes on the boy ; he was in a tender frame of mind 
from his reminiscences and was attracted to the friendless 
little stranger. 

“ I tell you what I’ll do,” said he, “ you needn’t look 
any further. I’ll take the boy myself. He shall have 
plenty to eat and good clothes to wear. I’ll send, him to 
school when there is any school, and when there ain’t any 


106 


JOESSA ; OR, 


Fll keep him at work in the sawmill. I don't see what 
well-disposed hoy could ask for more." 

So the matter was settled, and Job took the boy. 

“ Joessa,” said Palmer with the air of one bearing good 
tidings, “ I have succeeded in obtaining an advance. of two 
hundred dollars a year in your salary. The people in your 
department had some favorite whom they wished to pro- 
mote, and of course they told me the old story of the effi- 
ciency list. It is astonishing that they should tell such 
things to me ; they would have saved time by giving them 
to newspapers to enlighten the innocent granger where- 
withal. This is the best that I can do for you now, as 
you are now receiving among the highest salaries in your 
division.” 

Palmer was not speaking to the giddy girl whom we 
first knew, but to a woman matured more by care than by 
years. The froth of enthusiasm had turned to the scum 
of bitterness, the ardent fires which at an earlier time had 
shone in the eyes of her inexperience had lost their light 
in the embers of disappointment. She had been formerly 
the slave of caprices, but brooding over wrongs, real or 
fancied, had made her silent and melancholy. After the 
fulness of hope which has passed with nothing gathered 
but regrets, apathy comes to some, frenzy to others ; from 
it, Joessa parted, tamed by the violence of suffering, 
bruised and disheartened by the consciousness of failure. 
Her hopes had left her, leaving nothing behind but un- 
easy memories, but these memories were to her what her 
hopes had once been. 

And why had she not detached herself from Palmer ? 
Ah, why ? But we might ask ten thousand questions and 
receive an answer to none. Why are the passions of the 
human heart bounded, yet infinite in their mysteries ? 
Why is human knowledge forever striving and as often 
grasping the void ? There are mysteries which are im- 
palpable, which do not, of themselves, seek solution and 
are not fathomed by the curious searcher. Among these 
the shoals and rocks and currents of life are not those 
earliest to be measured nor easiest to be charted. 

We take her, then, as we find her, but cannot ascribe 
all blame to the individual will, nor all, perhaps, to the 
decrees of an inexorable destiny. We find her subdued 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 107 

ftnd baffled and apathetic, but clinging to what, in other 
days, had been ethereal visions, now trailing and lacking 
in luster, but dear for what they once had been. 

She did "not raise her eyes, but continued at some slight 
fancy work which a woman always has convenient. 

“You are very kind,” said she calmly and in a tone 
which conveyed no feeling of gratitude, “you have put 
yourself to a great deal of trouble which was not neces- 
sary. I was well enough off as it was, and I do not need 
the money.” 

The last words were not quite so evenly delivered as 
the first had been ; there was an accent of complaint, 
feeble, indeed, but that which is weak does not always 
lack in intensity. 

The note jarred harshly on Palmer’s sensibilities ; he 
felt that this woman had no claim on him and had no 
right to even hint otherwise. She did not feel gratitude 
for the pains he had taken in her behalf, but received 
his cordial words as if he had done something which 
might be reprehended. He was resentful, he was no man 
to humiliate himself by serving every caprice of an un- 
reasonable woman. He did not choose to exert himself 
to bring a smile to her lips or the exhibition of a kinder 
feeling to himself. But the old habit of being suave to 
all persons and in all circumstances was the reason that 
his manner did not change in spite of the coolness which 
met him when he was anticipating warm gratitude for an 
unexpected gift. 

“ I thought it might please you,” replied he, feeling a 
reproach, though there was no rebuke in words. This 
apathy of Joessa was not altogether new ; but was the 
more remarkable, being such a change from her former 
careless temperament and manners ; it had been of gradual 
growth, not much noticed at first, but seemed more prom- 
inent from being unwelcome. The wrong-doer seldom 
cares to have his evil deeds brought before him when he 
is at peace with himself. For himself he can gloss mat- 
ters over and turn to other things ; if thoughts are not 
wanted they may be banished by a mental fiction ; the 
ghost does not glower forever, but often disappears in the 
sunlight. So the jarring is greater by coming when not 
anticipated, and the force is not lessened, although there 
may be no intention to wound. The cut given by acci- 


108 JOESSA ; OR, 

dent may penetrate deeper than that inflicted by the as- 
sassin’s hand. 

“ 0, I am pleased,” answered she with a smile which 
was pitiful in its sadness, (f I am sorry that I make you so 
much trouble, and I ought to be more demonstrative, but 
I get so tired of everything as I grow old.” There was a 
longing and weariness in her tones, though she had made 
an effort of repression, that cry for old days, that 

“ Babbling o’ green fields” 

which sends out voices through measureless spaces of 
guilt. 

Palmer’s slight anger passed. He understood the psy- 
chological problem well, and he smiled inwardly as he 
thought that he should have felt vexed at Joessa for a thing 
so natural as her being sometimes despondent ; it was to be 
expected in a woman. Such weaknesses did not enter 
into the adamant of his own nature, but he could feel and 
sympathize with the failing of others, even if he chose to 
appear reserved and cold. With him it was a matter of 
the intellect, not of the heart. He laughed. 

“ Why, Joessa, how absurd you are to think of your 
being old.” But as he looked at her anxious face he could 
not avoid noticing marks which betoken the hand of Care, 
if there were no traces of age. He had never noted them 
before, close observer as he was, and wondered, in a dis- 
connected, incongruous way, how long it would be before 
she did, indeed, become old and nglv. It was a purely 
speculative fancy not to be explained easily by a philosoph- 
ical theory of the connection of ideas. But then, life and 
all which it animated was a varied mathematical prob- 
lem to Palmer, and he was forever studying them under 
whatsoever aspect they presented themselves. 

“I didn’t mean to be absurd, and I am sorry that I seem 
so to you,” said Joessa, gently, subservient to every whim of 
an exacting master, or rather boundless in her devotion 
to what had been the idol of her imaginings. In her anx- 
iety to please she had taken the wrong way, as most peo- 
ple do who are over-zealous ; love is not always excited by 
love, but by skilful playing upon weaknesses. The artist 
may be excited by the passion he inspires, but it is neces- 
sary above all to have full control of it, not to be its slave. 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 109 


The continual deprecation was not pleasing to Palmer ; 
why this eternal sadness and the shadow of care ? 

As in a changing view his thoughts wandered for a mo- 
ment, long enough to contrast Joessa with another — a 
graceful, gentle girl, innocent and beautiful, radiant with 
youth and joy, never dreaming of regret or reproach. 
Why should the image of this slight girl come before him 
without his will ? Nevertheless it was not an omen of evil, 
and he felt a pleasure in contrasting this beautiful child 
with the worn woman before him. 

It is well that our hearts are not worn on our sleeves, 
and that our thoughts do not appear to our neighbor as in 
a mirror. The words of conversation is the spray thrown 
up from the bosom of the ocean of feeling, they may con- 
vey a message, but, at best, it is no image of the obscure 
depths ; seldom does it present a true picture, often it 
furthers deception, inevitable or intended. So in this 
case, Joessa was open and sincere, but, without the in- 
tellectual intuition of Palmer, she would have expressed 
her thoughts very imperfectly ; as it was, she conveyed 
them so as to make the worst possible impression. 
Palmer, as was usual with him, had no intention of show- 
ing what he really thought, was thinking of a thousand 
things, while he seemed to be occupied only with what 
was before him. 

But while toying with the visionary the actual was also 
present ; the clear intellect was not confused by these 
passing fancies, and the obedient visage wore no look 
which hinted at betrayal. 

“It was nothing but an ill-developed thought,” said he, 
in a tone which carried evidence of good-will and kindli- 
ness ; he felt no desire to make the woman’s burden heav- 
ier, though it affected him little more than as a subject 
of abstract compassion. He had schooled himself so long 
in the repression of the actual emotions that they were 
little more than the toys of a cold philosophical system ; 
it might have been an extra development of what was orig- 
inally a gift of nature. The endowment is most com- 
mon, but, in modern society, which has so long been re- 
strained by strait training, it does not appear very obtru- 
sively, at least, measured by our standards. 

“ But why speak of it ? ” continued he. “ I saw you in 
the galleries the other day. I knew that you had taken a 


110 JOESSA ; OR, < 

clay off to hear me speak. It was most flattering and 
grateful.” 

Joessa flushed ; nothing stings a woman like jealousy 
and the ire of despised beauty, said the old writers, and 
eternal truths do not become worn by the footsteps of 
Time. There was peculiar irritation in this remark, for 
it had been patent to Joessa that Palmer’s eye had not 
stopped on the way when he had encountered her gaze ; 
she could not discern exactly whom he had singled out 
from the many in the crowded galleries, but she had seen 
by his countenance that he recognized some one, and her 
instinct pointed to the right person. 

Rousmg herself a little, she answered bitterly, 

“ There were others to whom the privilage was most 
grateful ; why mention me alone ? ” 

Palmer, like an intelligent man, divined at once. Here 
was another jarring, the want of harmony was becoming 
painfully apparent to him who disliked agitation and pre- 
ferred to see the whole world at peace. He was fond of 
quiet and rest ; a quiet which did not fear contradiction 
— a rest to which every one with whom he came in contact 
contributed by acceding to each of his wishes. This 
woman was becoming presuming, as if she had some claim 
upon him — as if she had rights which he ought not to 
disregard. He might have moralized on the annoyances 
caused by the discarded instruments of pleasures or of 
crimes ; they are not so easily banished in these, our 
times, as when the successful usurper rewarded his ac- 
complices with the bow-string. Neither one may have 
been able to escajDe the punishment, but the penalties vary 
as do the countries and times. 

His tone hardened as he replied. 

“Joessa, is it fair to speak to me in this manner ? Why 
do you still address me with this tone of covert reproach ? 
You seem to change while I remain the same ; why should 
there be anger or suspicion between us ? Are we not to 
each other what we always have been ? ” 

It was evident that there had been a change, perhaps 
not in himself, but changing circumstances often bring 
knowledge, and knowledge does not always bear happi- 
ness and peace. As many another imperious man. Palmer 
claimed as his due a certain amount of homage ; if it were 
withheld, he never indicated the lack by any visible sign, 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. Ill 


bnt the fact was remembered and how it was remembered 
depended upon his interest. The blind worship which 
Joessa had always willingly given had become to him such 
a matter of course that he had never imagined anything 
else. The thing in itself was too insignificant to merit 
much time or thought. 

It was, indeed, a new sensation to find resistance and 
reproach here — an unexpected stab from the most trusted 
hand. Joessa’s eyes gathered tears ; the resentment she 
felt was weak, but her sorrow was intense. There was 
not much disillusionment — that had been coming gradually, 
like the varnish wearing off a beautiful toy. She had 
before this accepted her fate quietly, believing that love 
covers all sins, while she dreamed that love was constancy. 
Belief will give everything to the votary, let the scoffer 
rail as he will and show on what flimsy foundations the 
trust is built. Argument and fact are wasted on one who 
sees through a glass fashioned for deception, and he takes 
no greater pleasure than hiding the truth from himself. 

But let not the deity to whom the altar is dedicated 
presume to lay bare the secret springs ; the profanation 
of another’s touch may desecrate, but cannot leave its 
trace. The idolized one alone can lay bare the relics 
concealed in the shrine, and, if there is mortality where 
immortality should be, he who has deceived may have the 
offense condoned and be forgiven, but has lost the old 
trust and confidence forever. 

She had never concealed a word or thought from Palmer 
— she did not now that a shadow had really come. 

“ 0, Palmer,” she cried, and her hands dropped help- 
lessly, “ you are all I have left, and if I should lose you ! ” 

To this student of human nature this rapid evolution of 
misery and despair was most interesting and touching ; 
Palmer advanced and, taking her soft white hands in his 
own, said with a laugh — a laugh in which the joyous me- 
tallic peal did not sound with its usual clear harmony : 

“ You have a nightmare, Joessa, you distrust me whom 
you never suspected before. If I have done wrong tell me 
so, that, at least, I may defend myself. It is not fair to 
have your eyes full of tears and not tell me why.” 

Again the bright vision of a fair girl flitted before his 
imagination. He wondered if it would be necessary to 
humor the caprices of this other woman, when all this was 


112 


JOESSA ; OR, 


mere frivolity and folly. Again the scene of his thoughts 
changed, the intervals of time were few and short, but the 
picture was complete. He held the hands of a reckless 
girl — one who loved him with all the self-abandonment of 
one who does not know and cares not to calculate. The 
cycle of years had revolved, they had brought back echoes 
and images, but they had not restored youth and inno- 
cence. 

Insensibly, and as if it were in spite of himself. Palmer 
felt himself softened ; the hardness was present, but there 
was a flaw in the mail which appeared impenetrable. 
There was homage due the past which sorrow and despair 
could not command ; he dropped one of her hands and 
gently pressed his own, thus liberated, to her cheek moist- 
ened and glowing. 

“ Joessa,” he cried, “ is it possible for you to doubt me 
while I love you and have always loved you ” 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 113 


CHAPTER XI. 

Palmer often received invitations to speak to the graduat- 
ing classes at young ladies’ seminaries. He was well known 
for his unblemished reputation, and none could give 
more salutary advice to those who were about to enter 
into the mazes and mysteries of the great world. His 
original way of presenting the truths of religion and 
morality gave them additional force and impressed them 
upon the youthful mind. His tastes were simple and his 
habits severe, and in his various campaigns these qualities 
were of great service to him ; where the candidates of dis- 
solute habits or doubtful morality would have lost the sup- 
port of the best people in the district, Palmer always prof- 
ited by their undivided strength : an additional argument 
in favor of the doctrine of appearances, and a warning to 
those who sin that they should not be found out. 

Whatever the guilt or error, the world may be brought 
to condone it, if they will not entirely forgive ; but wo 
to the offender who is so weak as to err with the expec- 
tation of concealing his offense, and, afterwards, be so 
stupid as to be caught. The world may pardon the crimes, 
but never the being tricked. 

There was a committee of elderly ladies waiting for 
Palmer ; some were married, some had been married and 
were now widows, and a still greater number were yet 
maidens. It was the Faculty of a neighboring young 
ladies’ school, and they had come for him to deliver the 
Commencement oration. 

Palmer demurred : “ I am very busy, indeed, at this 

season of the year, Mrs. X , and have a great number 

of engagements. I am sure that you can find some one 
who will be equally acceptable to you.” 

“Oh we could not think of such a thing, Mr. Morril,” 

returned Mrs. X with warmth. “ I don’t really see 

how we can get along without you. You always say such 
nice things — the very thing which every one wants to 
listen to. We depend upon you so much for our com- 


114 JOESSA;OR, 

mencements that they wouldn’t seem genuine without 
you.” 

The assertion was reinforced and emphasized by a chorus. 

“ 0 no, indeed.” 

The President continued : 

“ We feel such a sense of responsibility for these young 
ladies just about leaving us, that we consider it a part of 
our duty to impress on their tender minds the very best 
admonitions, and in such a way that it will be longest 
remembered. No one is so fit for this great work as you, 
and, I know, that for the sake of doing good you will 
consent.” 

The chorus repeated : 

“ Yes, you must consent.” 

Now, in union there is strength — Palmer might have 
resisted each one of the assembly singly, but yielded when 
there were so many against him. He was not averse to 
showing himself among these people, though it was not in 
his own district. The affair would gain currency through 
the newspapers, would keep his name before the public 
and, at the same time, would show his constituents that 
he was employing himself in promoting worthy and noble 
objects. Moreover, the President made a last appeal, 
which was irresistible. 

“It is the desire of our Faculty, Mr. Morril, to place 
before the eyes of our young people the practise as well as 
the precept. There are many prominent men who might, 
possibly, be induced to perform this function ; but we 
wish to exhibit character by a great example ; so we have 
given you the invitation.” Her admiration was unfeigned, 
perfectly honest and, therefore, of more value. Palmer 
said : 

(i I am truly flattered by this invitation to speak which 
you have to-day given me. I hope that I have deserved 
your confidence and, as I have won it in the past, I will 
try to preserve it in the future. Whatever it is possible 
for me to do to further the high aims which you have pro- 
posed to yourselves, be sure that I will gladly perform it 
and make any sacrifice which may aid you in your lofty 
endeavors.” 

Thus it was arranged that Palmer should deliver the 
oration, but the delegation waited for a few minutes be- 
fore they left him. Each one of the ladies desired to have 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 115 


a word or two with the great man ; these were memories 
to be cherished, and for many a long day the words of the 
famous Mr. Morril would be repeated and the entire inter- 
view given point by point. Memories of this kind are very 
pleasant to the one who talks about them as often as they 
lind willing listeners, but their hearers, warned by experi- 
ence, sometimes avoid the subject, for such stories do not 
always improve with the number of times they are told. 

A solitary man may become a first-class crank. If he 
is bent on becoming one, he can do it finely without a 
companion ; but the solitary woman never develops into 
a crank by herself — she has to have company for it. If 
the number united in the society is small, the abnormal 
element is not very great ; as the numbers increase, so 
does the degree of crankiness. 

When the first delegation had departed there was a 
second delegation ready to take its place. This one was a 
committee sent by the Consolidated Congress of the Workers 
for the Associated Brotherhood of Women. To promote 
the object for which they were laboring they were petition- 
ing Congress and wished to have a law passed. The law was 
to provide for the universal practise of peace, benevolence 
and love, and to carry with it suitable penalties in case of 
its infringement. The Congress had decided that none 
other was so suitable as Palmer to present this petition, 
and had come with the intention of giving him the privi- 
lege of offering it. 

The idea of legislating so as to perfect human nature 
is not new ; in fact, it has been tried a number of times 
with rather indifferent results, yet it seems that people 
are not discouraged by the failure, but are forever willing 
to give the old idea another chance. As a law always pre- 
supposes a crime, it acts only by the fear of a penalty — it 
is an appeal to the worst motives and should be resorted 
to only in extremities. It has been thought by some that 
the quickening of the conscience of the individual would 
diminish the necessity of a multiplicity of laws and offer 
the best solution of the development of all the desirable 
qualities of the race. 

The principal difficulty seems to be that men are not 
agreed as to what are the most desirable qualities. So 
they have been disputing about it for some thousand 
vaars back with some argument and much more brute 


116 


JOESSA ; OR, 


strength ; they have not yet reached the dead level of 
uniformity and it is doubtful if they ever will by the sole 
operation of law. It is probable that there must be some 
interchange of opinion and a general educational awaken- 
ing before that time. 

In the meantime Palmer’s visitors thought differently. 
There were a few men in the committee — one or two — 
who were accompanied by their wives. These ladies bad 
no doubt but that their husbands would be always found 
advocating and voting for the right measures, but thought 
that there could be no harm in coming in person and see- 
ing it with their own eyes. 

Palmer saw at once that he must use some tact in deal- 
ing with this delegation ; that it was necessary to promise 
much, but in such an indefinite way that it would be dif- 
ficult to call on him for a specific performance. He de- 
pended on being very polite, appearing interested, but talk- 
ing vaguely ; this is the proper proceeding in such cases, 
but the skill is shown in applying the mechanism which 
every one is supposed to understand. 

“ We have come, Mr. Morril,” said the lady President, 
speaking in the name of the delegation, “to have you 
pass a law for us. Our Congress have put the matter to 
vote and have decided to ask you to carry the matter 
through Congress which, of course, you can do without 
any trouble.” 

Palmer was doubtful if it was so easy to carry through 
all the projects which different societies, with the best of 
intentions, were desirous of enacting into law. He in- 
quired as to the nature of the measure before giving any 
answer. Here there was difficulty and confusion ; no two 
of the delegation told the same story, and, as the resolu- 
tion had not been committed to writing, the true version 
did not appear. The confusion was augmented by the 
confidence which each one had in herself, and the noise 
and volubility which each contestant brought forward to 
overwhelm her antagonists did not conform to the de- 
liberateness and calmness recommended for those seeking 
the truth. 

Palmer’s customary suavity and mildness of speech 
seemed to avail him little here, for he could not be heard 
in the din ; in one of the pauses, however, he managed to 
attract the attention of the President, who was pretty well 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 117 


prepared for listening by the violence of her efforts, and 
he was so successful as to reduce her to respectful silence. 

A crowd generally follows the example of its leader, 
from the mere spirit of imitation. It was not long before 
Palmer was the center of an enthusiastic group of ad- 
mirers who were eager and willing to do as he wished 
them ; the first aberrations were only the result of exu- 
berant spirits and a natural desire to be conspicuous which 
most people possess in abundance. There was nothing 
ill-natured about it, but each one wanted to have her say 
and, when she had said it, was quite satisfied to let some 
one else have theirs ; a disposition very conducive to good 
understandings and good-fellowship. 

“ It will be best, I think,” said Palmer finally, “ to 
have your secretary reduce the subject matter to writing. 
For my part, I would advise you to be quite deliberate 
about it, so that you will have little to change if it should 
happen that you should change your minds, or find that 
you have forgotten anything which you would like to have 
put in. You know it is said that wise men change their 
minds frequently, and I hope that women have the same 
privilege. Another thing which I would suggest is that 
you present the matter in the form of a petition ; that 
simply calls attention to it and does not presume to dictate 
to the law-making power. It is a sort of covert flattery 
which will, no doubt, have the proper effect ; you know 
that it is no easy thing to carry through these measures. 
Not that they are less important, but the members are 
more directly interested otherwise. When you have 
maturely deliberated and have your petition in tangible 
shape, I will be most happy to assist you by my advice or 
in any other way I am able.” 

This seemed to be the common-sense view of the affair, 
and the committee departed after having expressed their 
warmest thanks. 

Victor Hugo has remarked, in speaking of the legends 
of the Rhine, that the stories of the people terminate ac- 
cording to their ideas of justice. The criminal always 
suffers punishment, and the good are always rewarded ; as 
they would like to have things be, so they are in these 
popular tales. Not so in history. There the tyrant goes 
on to his dying day triumphant and successful, while 


118 


JOESSA ; OR, 


virtue and innocence become the victims of the more 
guilty but stronger. The desires of man tend to one goal, 
the actuality of nature to another. To solve the problem, 
religion has undertaken to explain the matter and pos- 
tulates another life which will make up for the failures of 
this — has ventured to place all reliance on the promises of 
hope. It is acknowledged that the visible does not square 
with our ideas of right and justice, but the unseen and 
unknown is drawn upon to remedy the wrong. It may 
be, and stranger things have been, but it is not safe to 
venture all on hope and futurity ; 

“ The ripples murmur, but the deeps are dumb.” 

There are many avocations in which skill and genius 
are required of those who follow them with success ; 
among these may be reckoned the art of the statesman. 
The qualifications differ with time and place, but to be 
brilliantly successful demands the highest genius. One 
of the chief requisites is adaptability — the art of turning 
everything to one’s own advantage. 

No fixed rules can be given, and none can be written or 
committed to print ; the originality of thought of the 
statesman must determine all and serve him in every 
emergency. The Oriental Vizier had to be prepared with 
joke and repartee, for if he failed in the appropriate word 
the bow-string and scimitar awaited him, and he might 
make a failure of his chosen profession because his capri- 
cious master had bad taste. In the prosperous days of 
the old regime, royal favor, together with power and, in- 
cidentally, success depended on the caprices of the most 
capricious of beings — the mistress of the king. In both 
cases there were shoals of fishlings who stood by and 
waited for the least trip or appearance of one to whisper 
about the advisability of seeking a new protector and of 
helping the old one down. 

These times and places had, no doubt, their difficulties, 
but it is just as hard, to keep place and power with the 
sovereign people for a master. In the first case, a general 
idea might be arrived at as to the wants of the despot, in 
the second, the idea must be furnished and the sovereign 
must like it. The Chaldeans could interpret the dream 
if Nebuchadnezzar could tell it to them ; but Daniel alone 
could give both the dream and its interpretation. 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


119 

. The statesman in a modern democracy is in a position 
similar to that of Daniel before the Babylonian king ; and 
any failure to supply both requirements is followed by 
oblivion for himself and preferment for some one else who 
promises more, and whose promises are as yet untried. 
In such circumstances he is most likely to succeed who 
makes the most of appearances, — seems to be doing the 
right thing whether he does or not. Such a one becomes 
very skilful in putting the best on the outside and cover- 
ing up defects with thin films of intellectual lacquer, so 
that they seem fully as sound as the other parts — would 
seem so forever if they were never put to the test. But 
sometimes there come days of trial which disclose these 
flaws ; this is the worst of all, for then there is no space to 
better the matter and there is imminent danger of wreck. 

If .true values were more closely estimated, if there was 
a stricter reckoning with the individual conscience and 
closer self-examination, some relief might be given. In 
this case the man cultivates self-approbation, and this 
must be won straightforwardly and honestly ; it is not 
easy for one to deceive himself beyond a certain point, at 
least, not all at once. In the other case he seeks the ap- 
probation of his neighbor who does not have the facility 
for the inquiring into motives which the man himself has. 
Hence there is a temptation to deceive — to seek for favor- 
able lights and shadows — appearance, not substance, — for 
there seems to be profit in deceptive phenomena, and 
where there is profit there should be pleasure. 

Palmer was as others of his class ; he saw the profitable 
way, and he followed it as best he could. He was like 
most men and had no special desire to make a martyr of 
himself without benefiting any one, as it appeared on the 
surface. So he followed along in pleasant ways and framed 
his expedients according to the hour which needed them. 
If he was not so good as some men, there were others 
worse ; it was not necessary to aim any higher than others 
around him, in this there was too much of a struggle in 
which he did not care to engage. Rest is the best of all, 
and none needs it so much as the very active man. If one 
develops on one side too much, there is the old danger 
of the defect on the other ; and the man who is all ac- 
tivity in one direction may be just as sluggish in the 
opposite one. 


120 


JOESSA ; OR, 


So Palmer revolved serenely in his chosen path, using 
such means for appropriate ends as came in his way ; not 
cruel, but relentless as Necessity herself, for he aimed at 
certain objects, and did not question anything which 
promised to compass success. 

The graver cares and complexities of his daily life were 
soothed by recreations or society. Of the recreations there 
has been mention and will be again ; as to society, he 
often felt himself drawn to the reception-rooms of Mrs. 
Jones. 

“1 wonder what Count Antonio can do with all the 
money he borrows of me ! ” exclaimed Mrs. Jones one day. 
Palmer was in the room and had been talking to Rose, 
but, taking advantage of a slight pause in their conversa- 
tion, Mrs. Jones had brought in the foregoing question. 
For a long time past she had been well acquainted with 
Palmer, so that now she regarded him as quite a friend of 
the family. She was accustomed to tell him of all her 
little troubles, and the sum total was by no means small, 
for she always found him an attentive listener and a never- 
failing sympathizer. It is so comforting for old ladies, 
and young ones too, to find a congenial sympathizer ! 
Now sympathy has a value of its own in the way it is ex- 
tended ; your truly sympathetic friend does not blunder 
about it, make you painfully conscious of your errors and 
make things worse by awkwardness. 

He listens with a pleased and amiable expression what- 
ever your vagaries and tiresomeness ; he lets you run on 
and on, never giving the slightest sign of weariness or 
disapprobation. When you become tired at the length of 
the recital, although this does not often happen when you 
are talking of yourself and can command a good listener, 
he will graciously put in a few words, wondering how it 
is possible for a mere mortal to bear so much, or will 
politely hint that your lot is sorrowful indeed and that it 
is astonishing that you bear it so cheerfully. These qual- 
ifications are not altogether necessary, but the power to 
listen and seem pleased is indispensable. 

In this last Palmer was an adept because it was of so 
much use to him in his profession. It was not in the 
compass of the possibilities for him to appear bored ; 
whatever the subject, whatever the length of the speech, 
whatever the peculiarities of the delivery, he always looked 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


121 


interested and so very glad to have the privilege of hearing 
the sentiments. 

As Mrs. Jones spoke, he looked up ; but, knowing that 
there was no need of his saying anything, remained quiet, 
questioning with his grave searching eyes. Mrs. Jones 
resumed : 

“This is the third time within a week he has come to 
me for money, and I lent him ten thousand dollars each 
time ; he says that he must have more to carry on a spec- 
ulation he has well in hand, and I can’t get the money 
without going to Mr. Jones, which would never do. Mr. 
Jones is too strict and businesslike; everything must be 
in black and white for him. He wouldn’t lend a dollar 
without taking two or three mortgages on everything the 
poor Count has, and if they were not paid to the hour 
he’d foreclose.” 

Palmer assented with a graceful bow which charmed the 
lady. 

“Mr. Jones is business incarnate — there would not be 
so many bankruptcies if other men resembled him.” 

Mrs. Jones was gratified by the compliment paid Mr. 
Jones ; in it there was some honor for him, some to her- 
self. She continued : 

“ There was some slight talk of the Count’s being an 
impostor ; Mr. Jones had been quietly investigating 
through the Italian Legation. There was no doubt of the 
genuineness of the Count’s title, and he belonged to a very 
ancient family, but, like many of those old houses which 
could be traced back to the time of the Caesars or further, 
it was somewhat decayed. Money would restore the 
glories of the house, and, in such a case, who could think 
that money would be lacking ? ” 

Palmer glanced carelessly at Rose while her mother was 
speaking, but she seemed to be noticing very little of 
what was said. Her cheeks, clear and almost transparent 
before, were beautifully and delicately tinted by the glow- 
ing blood — it was not a blush, but an emotion seemed to 
pass like a soft, warm shadow as this evanescent flush 
grew and spread, then faded softly and imperceptibly 
away, leaving her paler by the contrast. Palmer did not 
speak, and Mrs. Jones resumed : 

“ You would not think so, Mr. Morril, but these money 
matters are worrying me ; the Count wants more money, 


122 


JOESSA ; OR, 


and I must get it for him. If you could only show me 
where I could borrow it I would be so very grateful to 
you, or, if you could lend it yourself, I would certainly 
pay you as soon as Rose and the Count are married. ” 

At this Rose’s beautiful lips contracted firmly, there 
came a light from her eyes bright and scintillating, it was 
evident that she had some opinion about the disposal of 
her hand ; she, too, had a will of her own, as most women 
have, and might assert it, if necessary, when least ex- 
pected. She leaned back in her chair with cheeks flush- 
ing just enough to make her look most charming — charm- 
ing even to Palmer. 

“Dear mamma,” said she in an even tone, it might 
have appeared indifferent to some, “ pray do not couple 
the Count’s and my names. It is very painful for me to 
speak of a thing like this, especially before Mr. Morril.” 
She became pale suddenly as if exhausted by a great effort. 
Mrs. Jones, to whom it was not the first lecture on 
breaches of conventionalities, started guiltily, and in try- 
ing to better conditions made them worse. 

“ 0, Rose,” cried she in a great flurry, “ I’ll have better 
manners next time, if you’ll tell me what to say. Mr. 
Morril don’t mind ; he’s such an old friend. You don’t 
notice these little things, do you, Mr. Morril ? ” asked 
she, appealing to him. 

Rose, desperately annoyed, answered the question in a 
most chilling manner. 

“ Certainly Mr. Morril does not notice them, but,” she 
continued, saying anything, as people often do to hide 
their confusion, “ I should be so much obliged if you 
would never speak of my marrying again. I hate the 
word, it embarrasses me every time I hear it — I will never 
marry.” 

Mrs. Jones, almost weeping, cried : 

“ Don’t, Rosie, don’t ! How can you treat your old 
mother so ? ” 

But Rose had improved the interval by leaving the 
room, and Mrs. Jones, recovering her spirits, reverted to 
her old theme. 

“ The Count, Mr. Morril, is like a great boy and needs 
some one to look out for him. Now, would it be asking too 
much of you to watch him just a little and let me know 
if you see anything ? Of course, these things are in con- 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 123 

fidence between- old friends, and I am sure that they will 
never go any further. ” 

Palmer smiled, there was nothing peculiar in his smil- 
ing, — but there was a peculiarity in the smile. Nothing 
could be more reassuring to distressed nerves than his 
polite tone and perfect gracefulness when he said : 

“ I am most grateful, Mrs. Jones, for the confidence 
which you place in my honor, and be assured that no one 
will ever hear from me a syllable of what you have just 
said. It may be that I may hear something of the Count 
which may throw some light on these financial affairs, aud, 
if it will be of any service to you, I shall be most happy 
to tell it.” 

“ But you don't know where I could borrow the money, 
do you ? '' said she. “ I can't go to Mr. Jones, and the 
Count says that he must have it. Could you spare me 
some ? " 

Palmer did not smile, but he would have liked to very 
much ; he seemed thoughtful, as if trying to figure out 
just how much cash he had on hand. He shook his head 
reluctantly. 

“ 0, Mrs. Jones,” said he, “you know how poor we 
politicians are. How would it be possible for me to have 
so much money ? ” 

It was convincing, and Mrs. Jones thought the only 
way was to find some one of whom she could borrow ; then 
she could lend to the Count. Secrecy was, above all 
things, requisite, for she said that she would die at once 
if such a thing ever came to the ears of Mr. Jones. 

Some light may be thrown on the Count’s financial 
transactions by observing the movements of Palmer a few 
evenings after this conversation. 

In a back room which was elegantly furnished, about 
half a dozen men were seated around an oval table. They 
were much interested in a game of cards which they were 
playing, and among the number were Count Antonio and 
Palmer. 

It was worth while to note the difference in the expres- 
sion of the faces of these two men as the cards were shuf- 
fled and dealt. The Count was eager almost to the verge 
of breathlessness, nervously clutching the cards as they 
were dealt one by one. It was easy to see that he was the 
slave of play, and was so much wrapped up in it that ho 


124 


JOESSA ; OR, 


seemed to lose his power of volition. He was the picture 
of one helplessly tossed about by the revolutions of the 
wheel of Fortune. 

Palmer sat nearly opposite him at the table. He seemed 
to scorn his occupation and to be engaged therein as if to 
show his contempt for it. There was no emotion in his 
face, which was perfectly impassive ; a mask would show 
thought and feeling as well as his countenance, except that 
the expressive eyes gave it light and color — a reflex of in- 
tellect, but having nothing of sensibility. He sat list- 
lessly in his chair, always ready when his turn to play 
came ; never delaying a moment, never a moment too 
soon. He coldly contemplated the ignoble greed, ex- 
pressed or concealed, of his associates with the superior 
calmness of one who is interested in something merely for 
mental gratification, and which he does not entirely un- 
derstand, but studies from motives of curiosity only. 

As he won or lost, he drew in the money or saw it go 
with more than the assumed unconcern of the professional 
gambler, but with all this coolness he contrived to mix an 
expression which seemed to say that he despised the money 
which came to him so lightly. 

Count Antonio, with the impetuosity of the South, 
showed his varied emotions very plainly ; his anxiety to 
win made it very easy to lose, and his mournful counte- 
nance told a story which needed no explanation. The pile 
of bills before him grew smaller, while that in front of 
Palmer became larger ; some of it went to others, but 
Palmer won most, while the Count's black eyes flashed and 
sparkled with the malignant blaze of a drawn stiletto. 

The cards were dealt again ; the Count was evidently 
well satisfied with the hand he held, and began with a bet 
of one hundred dollars. Some of the players at once 
dropped out ; when it became Palmer’s turn, he made 
good the bet and raised it fifty dollars, the next man raised 
it fifty dollars more and the rest dropped out. It was 
Count Antonio’s turn ; without a second of hesitation he 
raised the bet five hundred dollars. Palmer “ saw ” it and 
raised the stake one hundred dollars. The next man 
passed, but the Count took out a pocket-book and laid 
down five one thousand dollar bills, trembling a little as 
he did so. 

Palmer scrutinized him closely without seeming to be 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 125 

observing and, drawing out his own pocket-book, “cov- 
ered ” the five thousand dollars and raised the bet five 
thousand more. 

The Count hesitated ; there was not money enough left 
of what he had last borrowed of Mrs. Jones to make up 
the amount. His voice quivered slightly as he said : 

“ 1 haven’t the money with me to-night, but can get it 
in the morning if I lose.” 

There were signs of disapprobation from the remaining 
gamblers, but Palmer answered quietly : 

“ Your credit is good ; you may put in your I.O.U.” 

With a hand trembling with eagerness the Count wrote 
an I.O.U. for fifty thousand dollars and threw it upon the 
heap of bills in the center of the table. 

Palmer again opened his pocket-book, took from it nine 
crisp new bills of ten thousand dollars each and laid them 
on the top of the others, saying carelessly as he did so : 

“We are playing too high and may as well stop. I call 
you.” 

The Count spread out four tens, looking at Palmer with 
ill-concealed emotion. Palmer betrayed no emotion at all, 
but gracefully laid down four queens. 

“I am sorry to say so, Count,” said he as if politely 
regretting his good fortune, “ but the stakes fall to me 
this time. Some other day you may have better luck.” 

The next morning while Palmer was glancing over the 
paper as he sat at the breakfast table, he noticed a news 
item which stated that Count Antonio Balsamo had taken 
an early train to New York. He had just received a 
cablegram from Italy, announcing the death of an uncle 
whose estate he was to inherit. His absence would be 
keenly felt in the highest society, and it was to be hoped 
that he would return, after settling his affairs, to a city 
where he had made so many friends. 

Palmer turned to the next page, smiling as he did so, 
but kept on with his rolls and coffee. 


126 


JOESSA ; OK, 


CHAPTER XII. 

Palmer had very often told Rose that he was fond of 
music ; this had been done usually after she had played 
some selection on the piano, for she delighted in music 
and never needed much urging to induce her to play. 
There was always a delicate flattery in this, expressed by 
the tone and manner, not by the words themselves. The 
words spoke of an ordinary matter, but the way in which 
they were uttered said that it was her particular perform- 
ance which gave the pleasure, yet in such a way that it 
was the merest suggestion and conveyed greater praise by 
its very indefiniteness. 

Her voice was pleasing and highly cultivated, and she 
had spent much time over the Italian composers who 
suited her peculiar style of rendition best. She liked low 
sweet arias such as one imagines should be heard and sung 
by the Arcadian shepherds — suitable for dreams when they 
point to the first awakening of love. Not the love of pas- 
sion and care, but the very morning springtime, when the 
heart is lightly agitated, suffused with harmonious sensa- 
tions, but does not yet know whence they have come. 

In the South, it has been well said, the passions move 
with a fierce impulse and burn with the torrid heat of its 
sun. They are a distillation of the vivid and intense na- 
ture around them — rapid in their progress, overwhelming 
in their power ; whether it be love or hate they partake 
of the exaggeration which has generated them — surrounded 
by immensity, they are illimitable — fashioned amid the 
display of terrific forces, they share in the vigor of the 
energies which have created them. 

The North is more constant, if not so intense ; it pos- 
sesses, perhaps, the full degree of power of the South, but 
this is spread over a great extent of time ; the fury is not 
so apparent, yet the current is deep and strong, if seem- 
ingly tranquil. 

In the one, there are no stages of beginning ; love begins, 
as it ends, in full strength which is the power of the sun 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 127 

in midsummer. In the other, there is the first gentle 
awakening — the time of springtime and blossoms, balmy 
airs and the languid heat of a sun growing in fervor, 
slightly thrilling, but too distant and faint to burn. 
Growing, as it gathers force from its stored energies, there 
may be short fierce moments when the fire is as ardent and 
lur’d as that of the other — let us hope that there remains 
something of heat in the embers even if the dull ashes 
betray no spark of light. 

So Rose sang and played while Palmer listened. A 
genial warmth came to her from the music, which she 
did not question and did not understand, but, when he 
was by, her fingers seemed defter and her voice swelled 
with more of the soul of melody. She was used to praise, 
so it could not be the words of appreciation which could 
assume such flattering tones when he spoke them ; it was 
an inner consciousness, a subtle sympathy which gave the 
pleasure — for she derived pleasure from the thought that 
he liked to hear her sing and play. 

Or was it the emotion which the strains suggested ? 
Heroic utterances incite and quicken the blood of the 
hearer, and the finely-told story of distress moves the 
currentless depths of the heart with its pathos. Then it 
may be that the spirit floats out on the dreamy melodies 
created by the soft touches of the hands, excited by its 
own imagination, not influenced except by the creations 
of its own art. But the artist is not so much carried 
away when he is alone as when he is supported by the 
sympathy and applause of others, and the fervor of rendi- 
tion which inspired Rose was altogether natural — would 
have been perfectly natural if she had been afiected by the 
presence of others as by that of Palmer. 

Then there was a covert bond of sympathy — not love, 
but what might become love if no blight or chill intervened. 
The currents of life bring, in their own volition or the 
volition of a Higher, the masses of atoms together and 
separate them lawlessly or by law, but, in the meeting, 
there are attractions and repulsions which are not awak- 
ened by contact. It was not strange that Rose should be 
attracted by the subtle and elegant Palmer, for women 
are as much fascinated by intellectual as by physical 
strength. 

It was more strange that Palmer should be drawn to 


128 


JOESSA ; OR, 


her, if we premise that he was not dazzled by wealth, 
and there are many men who cannot be bought by money, 
even in this, our mercenary age. Men, as they average, 
are neither wholly good nor wholly bad ; the golden image 
has feet of clay, and the old proverb says that there is honor 
among thieves. The idea is well expressed and founded 
on the closest scrutiny of human nature. 

A better explanation of his sentiments may be made by 
the law of opposites ; the crafty are not always drawn 
to the artful, and this is one of the inexplicable laws which 
surround us. There is an affinity between like and like 
— there is an affinity between opposites ; sometimes one, 
sometimes another — each seemingly governed by method, 
but confused and entangled. 

It seemed to Palmer that Rose was singularly fascinating 
this morning. The bright light became her as it becomes 
flowers and bright-hued birds ; the loop of diamonds 
sparkling in her glossy golden hair, her white garments 
floating about her graceful form, as her hands wandered 
along the harmonious keys, set off well that peculiar beauty 
which seemed the embodiment of tenderness and purity. 
Added to this there was the enchantment of dreamy 
melodies, vivified by the tones of her clear voice which 
rose and sank with emotion as she trilled the sonant sylla- 
bles of the Italian words. 

At length she paused and looked at Palmer. She felt 
a thrill of self-consciousness, which hurried the current 
of blood and sent a glow of color to her cheeks, just the 
faintest tinge — similar to the delicate pink which flushes 
opening blossoms. 

“I tire you with my endless music,” she said, “but at 
the piano I often forget myself ; I like music so well my- 
self that I sometimes become lost.” 

“ Not so much lost,” he laughed, “ that y u are not your- 
self always. It seems to me that you are never more 
yourself than when you are discoursing sweet melodies ; 
you are so well fitted for harmonious surroundings.” 

Her hand touched the keys again and renewed the last 
notes of a plaintive air, seemingly dying away with suc- 
cessive complaints, each one weaker* than the one before. 

“Another melancholy tune,” he continued, “ why not 
something livelier ? Music and harmony should have no 
notes of regret.” 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 


129 


“ 0, but there is so much sweetness in these mournful 
pieces,” said she. “ I feel the attraction but do not try 
to explain what brings it about.” 

He laughed. 

“ Do you puzzle yourself with mysteries, then, like the 
rest of us ? It seems to me hardly worth while since we 
find so few solutions.” 

She flushed a little, almost angrily ; it seemed to her 
possible that Palmer regarded her as one who was not 
quite his equal intellectually. The thought certainly did 
not originate from anything in his tone or manner, yet 
she felt a slight suspicion that it might be so. This was 
the first time in her life that her self-consciousness had 
suggested such an idea. It was a galling thought, but it 
made her feel constrained and embarrassed in the presence 
of this man who possessed intellectual gifts so splendid. 

“And why should I not study difficult things?” she 
asked. “ They should be as easy to me as to the rest of 
the world ; that is, if I am given the opportunity.” 

Her slight vexation had not escaped the observation of 
Palmer ; he attributed it to its source, but it conveyed to 
him no new tidings. Most persons with whom he con- 
versed revealed to him, partially at least, their emotions 
while they talked. 

“No doubt,” replied he smilingly. '■ No one could 
doubt it ; but why take the trouble ? ” 

Again the suspicion came upon her that she might be 
considered too frivolous to apply herself to what demanded 
trouble or deep thought. She did not know how to meet 
the implied charge. She would not have oared at another 
time. Why did these vexing ideas disturb her ? 

She answered more earnestly than the slight occasion 
demanded : 

“ I do not care so much for pleasure and amusement 
as some might think. I would like trouble and worry if 
any good were to come from it. I do what I can now 
even if it is very little.” 

She was eagerly defending herself when there was no 
accusation, no hint of any charge. It seemed to her that 
this singular man should be put in the right and know 
her as she really was ; she did not value his opinion, but 
it was merely justice to herself that no one should form a 
misconception of her, 

9 


130 


JOESSA ; OR, 


He smiled again, but he was more serious than before, 
as the girl became graver and more earnest, he, too, fol- 
lowed her varying mood. 

“ The friends who really know you would never enter- 
tain such a thought, and, do not doubt it, there are al- 
ways some few who observe and appreciate. What the 
rest think is worth nothing.” 

There was a vein of meaning in this short speech which 
she grasped eagerly. This dark man, coldly intellectual, 
whom she almost feared at times, looked upon her differ- 
ently than most men. He was not dazzled by the glitter 
of her father’s wealth, but esteemed her for what was 
higher and nobler in her, for her aspirations, her striv- 
ings, for herself — not as she appeared to others, but for 
what she desired to be. His approbation w T as not lightly 
won, but priceless when obtained, for it bore the impress 
of knowledge and power. Power above all, and what 
speaks to the heart of a clinging and tender woman like 
the terrific voice of measureless strength ? 

Bashful as a lisping school-girl, she murmured grate- 
fully : 

“I scarcely thought that I had friends who know me 
as I really am. I have heard flattery and falsehood till it 
sickens me, and there seems no sincerity left in the world.” 

The smile had died away on Palmer’s lips, and his face 
had become grave, but there was nothing of harshness or 
repulsion in his manner ; he was approaching a serious 
problem and it was fitting that what was done should be 
done gravely and earnestly. 

“ It seems strange indeed,” said he while the earnest- 
ness of his tone thrilled her with more of emotion than 
when she had been one of the atoms in a vast audience, 
“ that you should speak of sincerity and -falsehood as if you 
knew them so w r ell. We who are older and who have had 
experience may speak of such things from personal knowl- 
edge, but let us hope that the knowledge may never fall 
to you.” 

Again she felt a flush of anger ; he was treating her like 
a child — something to be flattered and shielded and dis- 
regarded as too slight for more than passing attention. 
She — a child — one who felt in herself the full passion and 
strength of tumultuous womanhood, who could love and 
hate and suffer — she was the conscious equal of this cold 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 131 

inscrutable man and could meet his scorn, if need be, 
with hatred. He was strong and hard, but not more than 
herself if she chose to be. An angry reply darted to her 
lips, but lost much of the sharpness before utterance, and 
the words became little more than a complaint. 

“ You think that I am weak and have not the strength 
to endure ?” 

With a courtliness which might have been an attribute 
of olden chivalry, he answered gravely, while his voice 
vibrated as if shaken by passion : 

“What you call weakness is the best gift of your glo- 
rious womanhood — the love of a woman, the tenderness of 
a woman. You are angry with me, your cheeks flush and 
your eyes sparkle. Is it possible that you can feel re- 
sentment toward one who was always your friend, and 
who eagerly desires a fonder name ? I have tried to be 
silent, but will be no longer, for I love you, Rose, not 
with half-heartedness or lingering doubt, but with the 
absorption and devotion of my whole strength and being. ” 

For an instant Rose did not comprehend the full mean- 
ing of bis rapid words ; as she understood them, another 
light flashed upon her which for many a long day she had 
tried to deaden or conceal. There had been love, half- 
bidden and denied, but love, nevertheless, fervid and 
glowing, even if unfed by the cheating of hope. 

She pressed her hands to her face as if dazzled by a 
sudden glare and leaned against the open piano for sup- 
port, but, in reaching over, her arm struck among the 
keys, which returned a jangling discord. 


132 


JOESSA; OR, 


CHAPTER XIII. 

There is generally an aftermath of annoyance after 
pleasure. Disagreeable things are met by the strong, if 
not with equanimity, with such firmness and constancy as 
the occasion may require, or with the full strength which 
the character supplies, even with the expectation of fail- 
ure. This is the real test of genuine strength — the meet- 
ing of every obstacle with full force, no matter whether 
the consequence be defeat or victory. Nothing requires 
so much courage as to meet defeat — knowing it will be 
defeat — and yet give to the struggle the full degree of 
strength which would be called forth by the expectancy 
of certain success. 

This character is rare, but seems the ideal of Stoicism — 
to possess complete control of all one’s faculties and to 
make a full and perfect use of them as may be required. 
This is an admirable gift or acquisition, whichever it may 
be ; a keen tool for the master whether he uses it for a 
good purpose or an ill. 

There was something of this in the character of Palmer ; 
he was never wanting in the complete command of all 
the resources of his intellect, and everything which he 
undertook was undertaken with full force. He did not 
look to ulterior consequences, but did what was to be done 
with what might be possessed ; he did not trouble himself 
for what came after. This was the mode of action, the 
subtle causes which controlled the action, the moral proc- 
esses, were the hand which guided an admirable instru- 
ment. 

It was inevitable that Joessa should know of the changed 
relations between them, and he chose that she should 
learn it from himself. One weaker would have trusted to 
absence or time, but such proceeding was not suited to 
Palmer. He did not rejoice in difficulties, but did not 
shun them when they met him. 

When next he met Joessa, his customary greeting was 
unchanged ; he trifled, joked and laughed as he was used 
to do ; he would have considered it a weakness if he had 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 133 

been otherwise ; it would have signified a lack of that full 
control of his faculties on which he prided himself, or, 
rather let us say, consciousness of a defect of his powers. 

“ Joessa,” said he finally, without any change in his kind, 
familiar tone of voice, “ what would you think if I were 
to leave you for an indefinite time ? ” 

She looked at him incredulously. 

“ Why, where could you go ? I don't see how you could 
leave Washington for any length of time.” But there 
was trouble after the sentence was uttered. There is al- 
ways unrest with erring; it is ever restless and ready to 
show itself by its innate jealousy. The sin ostracized by 
society is timid and shivering, always fearing exposure and 
shrinking into darkness ; but the sin which may be con- 
doned is equable as the condoning is facile. There is no 
pardon for the erring woman, and, if there is yet left a 
feeling of shame or shrinking, it is no wonder that she 
trembles at nothing which she fears may be important. 

“Oh,” said Palmer, “we change as we grow old, and 
need a change of occupation and scene. Monotony wears 
and wearies ; I shall make new arrangements for the fu- 
ture, entirely different from what the past have been.” 

Joessa was alarmed, but her ideas took on the form of 
her secret desires. It might be that, after all these years, 
Palmer would marry her, vile as she was. The thought 
was entrancing, but scarcely possible ; she did not stop to 
consider the degradation which it implied to the brilliant 
man, occupying the position which he did, but thought 
only of the joy and satisfaction which it would afford her- 
self. Her early romantic dreams had changed ; they were 
not now so brilliant. Instead of hoping for joy and pleas- 
ure and admiration, she would have been more than satis- 
fied to expiate guilt by suffering, to cover shame and dis- 
honor ; but, alas ! for sin or crime there may be forgive- 
ness — there is none for the errors of ignorance. 

“ No slave was ever so bound by the terrors of the lash 
or torture as Joessa by the masterful intellect of Palmer ; 
it was his to command, hers to obey whatever the effort 
cost. So she did not question or comment on his words, 
but waited to see what his wishes might be. 

“ Dear Joessa,” he continued, “ you know how I love 
you, and how it will affect me to part from you for never 
so short a time, but I have been thinking that it would be 


134 : 


JOESSA ; OR, 


better for us both if we did not meet quite so often. Yon 
know what sorrow this will cause me ; I know what pain 
it will bring to you, but we cannot always have pleasure 
and happiness and must learn to endure whatever is in 
store for us.” 

Joessa did not answer, but leaned back in her chair, 
stunned and passive. She did not consider resistance, only 
how she might bear the pain — a pain not loud and demon- 
strative, yet pervading and acute. 

But there is a silent sorrow 
Which can find no vent in speech, 

Which disdains relief to borrow 
From the heights which song can reach ; 

Like a clankless chain enthralling, 

Like the sleepless dreams which mock, 

Like the frigid ice-drops falling 
From the surf-surrounded rock ; 

Such the cold and sickening feeling. 

If Joessa had been gifted with the power of expression, 
she might have described the sensation in words something 
like those above ; not having it, she could only feel and 
suffer in silence. If Palmer willed that they must part 
for a time, it must be that he was forced to it by necessity ; 
but whence could the necessity arise ? 

There came to her the image of that doubt which had 
come to her before, but she rejected the suspicion as some- 
thing unseemly. A time might come for such belief, but 
now it presented itself as a temptation for evil thought, not 
to be received nor endured. She had so long dwelt in the 
shadow of fear that her timidity trembled constantly from 
mere habit. Like others not dissimilar she was perpetually 
afraid of a parting where there was nothing but caprice to 
prevent it. She had believed that she loved, but it was a 
noisome love, ever shivering with fear and what she had 
repeatedly said to herself was not suspicion. She did not 
have the power to, reason on these things, but felt them 
with the intuition peculiar to women ; with all was the 
stupefying sensation of utter powerlessness which is so 
potent to tame and subdue. 

At length with an effort she said : 

“ 0, Palmer, is there to be more suffering yet when I have 
borne so much already ? ” This appeal did not question the 
justice nor the necessity — it merely asked if the measure 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 135 


was yet full ; it was only the query of despair so far as it 
could be expressed in words — a moan without purpose — an 
inarticulate wail without meaning save as the index of pain. 

Palmer was touched ; he was not hard-hearted, but he 
was used to consider the end and to slight the means by 
which it was attained. He was softened by the distress of 
Joessa and would have done anything to remove it pro- 
vided that it did not interfere with his carefully considered 
plans. As it was, he desired to make everything as easy as 
possible and put all in the best light, well knowing that the 
mental condition is as important in the reception of a 
thing as the thing itself. 

“ Dear Joessa,” said he, with a tenderness in his voice 
which was not altogether affected, “ there is no need for 
suffering or tears. It is all in the way you think of it. If, 
now, you were to be unreasonable and distress yourself at 
what is really very little, you might without doubt have a 
great deal of trouble — cause both yourself and me no end 
of pain which would all be unnecessary and useless. If you 
should not take a short separation too much to heart — and 
why should it not be so ? — a time may come when we may 
be to each other all that we have been in the past. What 
more can you ask than that ? ” 

Ah ! what more ? It seemed to Joessa that she was ex- 
acting and hard to satisfy, she did not settle minutely how 
much she deserved, but the prospect was not alluring. It 
seemed to her that, whatever was done, there should be no 
parting; whether good or evil came, good fortune or dis- 
aster, why should they not bear it together ? Then the 
secret skeleton of her fears cast its hideous shadow, and 
she knew that they were together and not together, united 
and disunited. So she could not think or reason clearly, 
only feel, and the sense of pain was not soothed because it 
had no rational existence. 

She could not answer his question with reason, but 
sighed while the tears gathered and overflowed, not fiercely 
and violently, but slowly oozing from her eyes when there 
was no longer an abiding-place for them there. 

“ 0, Palmer,” said she, helplessly and passively, “ what- 
ever it costs I will do as you wish ; but it is so hard for me 
that I don't see how I can bear it.” It seemed that the 
tears had brought some relief ; she wiped her eyes with 
her handkerchief and appeared more cheerful. 


136 


JOESSA ; OR, 


Palmer hesitated for a moment ; he considered whether 
it were best to speak at once or wait a little. He decided 
that haste was not necessary and that it would be much 
better to proceed slowly. 

“ I have had many struggles with myself/’ said he, 
“ and found that it was not easy to choose the proper way.” 
He had intended to say “ right way” but the words did 
not seem to fit and he rejected them. “ After all, we are 
only the creatures of circumstances and can scarcely choose 
for ourselves, but must follow what is around us. We have 
our own opinions and wishes, but if we should follow them 
we would be in a state of perpetual warfare with the whole 
human family, so we are forced to do as others do, correct- 
ing them a little here and there if we can.” 

“ It would be so delightful to do as we liked without 
regard to the opinion of others,” said Joessa, “if it were 
only right.” 

Joessa had forgotten her tears and felt better. 

“ Yes,” answered Palmer, “ if it were right and proper.” 

“Proper” was doubtless the better word of the two, 
for Palmer was no amateur in the choice of words or 
phrases. The choice of a word is often a very grave 
matter ; the appearance is determined by the use of the 
word or phrase, and the outside should be carefully pre- 
served, for that gives the impression ; the intrinsic value 
is slow in being appreciated — perhaps never is. This 
fastidious selection of his material had much to do with 
Palmer’s magic power ; another might employ the same 
thought, but spoil it in the expression. He alone gave to 
it its full strength and significance and added to its force 
by the grace with which he invested it. 

“ There must be some cause for all this, Palmer,” said 
Joessa. “Now, if you should tell me the cause, I could 
the more readily see the necessity of what you are talking 
about.” 

Palmer hesitated a moment ; it was not so easy to re- 
veal his full purpose to this woman after all. He had 
made up his mind and was not to be turned from his 
design. He did not shrink or waver, but in the depths of 
his soul he felt that the task demanded his full strength. 
He would delay the moment again and cheer Joessa so 
that she might bear the stroke with greater fortitude. 

“ Dear Joessa,” he said, with his old familiar tenderness, 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. I37 

u you know how necessary it is for us public men to ob- 
serve appearances. It should not be more so with us than 
with others, and it seems peculiar cruelty that it is so ; 
but you know how slander starts from nothing and how 
carefully we must avoid the slightest hint of evil. For 
the matter itself I do not care, except as it might interfere 
with my career, and I know how much pride you take in 
that. With me it is not merely selfish interest, but I see 
the good I can accomplish where another might do harm. 
We have both always regarded that as our chief good, and 
have always been ready to sacrifice to it our merely per- 
sonal aims whatever the cost might be.” 

Joessa divined, but was willing to help make the 
sacrifice — women sacrifice their all for men while thinking 
they only share in the suffering. They give what they 
may, but think the offering small compared with the 
greatnessof the idol. The flood of generous feeling rises 
to the full, yet with it forever swells as fast the crowd of 
forgotten memories, the emotions, tumultuous, even if 
repressed, gathering from the dry courses fountains of 
bitter waters, tempests of sorrow and tears. 

Yet she did not give way to her feelings altogether ; 
though stray drops overflowed from her brimming eyes, 
she half-controlled herself. She did not wish to pain 
Palmer by making him think that he was asking too 
much. 

“It is hard,” said she, trying to bear up, “but I will 
do all I can — more than I can bear.” 

The tears rose again, but she pressed them back, hoping 
that Palmer thought that she was brave as she did so. He 
was not unmindful, was even grateful in his way ; he felt 
that she was making a sacrifice for him and considered 
that the object was worthy of the sacrifice. 

“ It is the necessity of our lot,” continued he, “ which 
calls for this self-denial. If we propose to ourselves 
great objects, we can attain them only by giving up other 
and less things to reach them ; the end should always be 
kept in view, for that, if sufficient, will repay all the en- 
deavor spent, the pain experienced.” 

“ Yes,” replied Joessa, warming with enthusiasm, “ I feel 
that there may be pain and suffering, and I should be so 
glad to share it with you. Better anything rather than 
parting.” 


138 


JOESSA ; OR, 


“ But if there must be parting,” answered he, “that, 
too, must be borne. Is it not better to bear it with firm- 
ness, even if in grief, than to suffer the sorrow added to 
the knowledge that we have been wanting where we 
should have been strong ; to suffer for what was inevitable 
and for what we might have avoided ? ” 

“ All this would be nothing,” she said, “ if we could 
be together.” 

“That would, indeed, be a solace,” he replied, “but we 
must always remember that we cannot do as we wish, but 
must do as we can. If there must be separations, shall 
we not bear them with all the resolution we can 
summon ? ” 

“ And why should there be a parting ? ” asked she, 
putting the idea from herself again. “ Why should we 
not be always as we have been ? What new thing has 
come between us now after we have been happy together 
for so many years ? I have known sorrow, but I have not 
changed — dearest Palmer, it cannot be that you have 
changed while I remain the same ?” 

Palmer did feel regret — not so keen, perhaps, as some 
others might have felt, but enough to disturb his calm 
and equable self-complacency. He felt keenly, but if the 
pangs had been far sharper he could not now turn back ; 
what was done, was done, and what must be, must be ; 
all was settled, and it was too late now to count the cost. 

So, in an even voice which did not betray the passions 
which he felt, he answered : 

“ I have not changed, Joessa — there is too much adamant 
in my nature for me to change — I cannot change, even if 
I would. But the circumstances which surround me 
change, and they would crush me if I did not yield to 
them. It is not myself which is different, but I have 
been gathering knowledge, and knowledge threw down the 
gates of Paradise. I used to be proud of my strength, 
but I have learned the secret of my weakness ; I must 
bow to what is stronger than myself or be broken. I can- 
not bear to go on — I will stop unless you command me.” 

“ I command you to go on,” cried Joessa, pallid and 
despairing. For herself she had no strength left, but it 
was evident that Palmer required her aid to proceed. 
“ Whatever comes to me I will try to endure it ; I only 
hope that it may be of some help to you.” The tears 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 139 


needed no repression now. They had flowed back in their 
secret channels, leaving her still and helpless. 

Again Palmer faltered and hesitated. He considered 
whether there was yet time to turn back, but felt that he 
could not now go over the reasons for and against calmly 
and dispassionately. He had done so already and made 
his decision ; he must abide by it — there was no opportu- 
nity to annul it and think of something else. For once 
his deft skill failed him, and he was constrained to go on 
with words which came to him reluctantly and, it seemed 
to him, ill-chosen, not as they should come at the bidding 
of a master. He thought that the graceful turns, which 
seemed to him so essential, were wanting and that he pro- 
ceeded to state his purposes with a bluntness which 
wounded when he had desired that the manner of expres- 
sion should deaden the shock. 

“ I will explain to you all the circumstances if you re- 
quire it, Joessa, but it would be useless for you and pain- 
ful for me. It is enough that I have gone over the ground 
and considered everything and feel that the course I have 
resolved on is the best to further my career as a public 
man. Do you agree with me, and will you trust me what- 
ever the cost ? ” 

“ Yes,” answered Joessa faintly, fearing that the price 
demanded might be too great, nerving herself for the 
shock. 

“My position imperatively demands .my marriage; I 
am beginning to advance in years, and I should settle 
down and marry.” 

In the flame of resentment Joessa forgot her fine-spun 
schemes of submission and resignation. 

“ It is just like you,” she cried vehemently, “ betray 
and then desert. I made a saint of you while you were 
only a man after all. You must marry, of course ; your 
position demands it, but you never thought of marrying 
me. I have been your slave for years, thrilling at your 
every caprice, trembling at every whim. How, after all, 
you must marry, for you have a position, and I ” 

She did not break into tears, but the gust of sudden 
anger was spent, her hands, which she had raised in pas- 
sion, fell into her lap while she moaned in despair. 

“ It is too much, I cannot bear it ; anything but this — 
anything but this.” 


140 


JOESSA ; OR, 


Her sudden anger had roused him, had hardened where 
a despairing appeal or a gesture of tenderness might have 
softened ; he was all himself again. 

“This is necessity,” said he in a tone which might re- 
mind of the glitter and firmness of steel. “ I am the slave 
of my environment, and I will carry out my designs to the 
very end, whatever may be in the way.” 

Joessa had become cold and silent, shivering with fear. 
She had dared for a moment to oppose his will, but shrunk 
back with terror as soon as she faced the reality of his 
anger. But one instinct, that one most powerful in a 
woman, roused her from her apathy. 

“ There was a child. Palmer ; have yon forgotten it ? 
There was shame and infamy for me, but, with all the 
shame, give that back to me and I will go.” 

He was paler than herself — hesitated and said : 

“ I do not know what has become of him. He was 
placed in the Foundling Asylum. Do not speak of these 
things — let us forget them. It may be that, in spite of 
all, it may not be necessary for us to give each other up.” 

But she was pale and cold and seemed to have no sense 
of suffering. 

“ No,” said she, “there is nothing more. When we 
part we must part forever. Let there be grief and suffer- 
ing but no anger. If we must part, let it be in peace.” 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 141 


CHAPTER XIV. 

The strains of the wedding march filled St. John’s 
church. The floral decorations were in perfect taste and 
magnificent in the matter of cost — nothing tawdry or 
cheap. Society had come en masse to witness the cere- 
mony, and the gossips said that the match was perfect ; it 
was the joining of beauty and strength, goodness and in- 
tellect. So all had come, the invited and the uninvited, 
and Joessa was among the unbidden guests. 

She thought that she had given up Palmer forever, but 
could not keep her resolution altogether, and had come to 
see him once more before he was married and lost for her. 
She had planned many wild and bitter schemes of ven- 
geance, and had finally decided that the most appropriate 
was to make a scene at his wedding and expose him as he 
was. There was not much dignity in making trouble and 
getting arrested, but in her agitation she did not consider 
the matter as justly as some might have done ; — as so 
often happens, her judgment was clouded by her passions. 

There was a rustle at the church door, telling of the 
arrival of the bridal party. She had taken a seat near the 
aisle — for the ushers were negligent and the crowd press- 
ing — which seemed specially fitted for her purpose. Sav- 
agely brooding over her wrongs, she waited, collecting 
strength for the trial which would demand it all. They 
approached, and she, with those around her, turned so as 
to look on them as they came up. 

Rose was entrancingly beautiful, fairly angelic, with 
golden hair and blue eyes ; there was a slight blush tint- 
ing the color of her face, which was set off to the best ad- 
vantage by fairy laces and filmy garments. Most striking 
was the perfect repose of countenance which appeared to 
speak of complete satisfaction and happiness — the full 
possession of what has been long desired in secret. 

In truth, it was a perfect pair, for Palmer was fully 
worthy of his beautiful bride — showing a magnificent pres- 
ence, conscious of intellect and strength. 


142 


JOESSA ; OR, 


So they passed on and Joessa turned to meet them, 
counting to herself the tale of her wrongs lest her fury 
should cool. Rose noticed her eyes and shrank back to 
Palmer ; he, with the defiance of utter fearlessness, for a 
moment met her fierce look. Then she trembled and sank 
back, and the strong man had again triumphed over the 
wavering woman. 

Then one idea developed itself in her confused mind ; 
she had been baffled at every point, and nothing was left 
but to die. The thought formed clearly and vividly, the 
instrument suggested itself — she had a bottle of mor- 
phine ; what more appropriate than to end her tumultu- 
ous existence in sleep — in rest. It might be that Palmer 
would know of it and be conscious of her love for him. 
That would be best of all — no more trouble for her, and 
there would be peace for him. It might be that he would 
not entirely forget ; there might be regrets when it wa3 
too late. So she decided that life was useless and that it 
was better to die. 

She arranged everything, thought how she would look 
in the coffin, studied out what kind of a letter she should 
leave behind her and went into numberless details which 
would have been ridiculous if they had not been tragic. 

In the meantime she had passed out of the church with 
the throng and was aroused from her stupor by a voice, 
familiar, but she had not heard it for many a year. It 
was Job who spoke — Job himself, well-kept and corpulent, 
the very image of a prosperous business man, at peace with 
himself and with all the world. 

“ Why, Joessa,” he exclaimed, “ I wouldn't have known 
you, you’ve grown so old. But Pm so glad to see you ; 
I would never have thought that I should meet you here.” 

Joessa was softened by the tones of hearty friendship. 
She answered Job with no little interest. 

“ This is a surprise, indeed ; what could have brought 
you to Washington ?” 

“ Oh,” he said, “ I came for the Lumbermen’s Associ- 
ation. Congress is in session, and we must have more 
'protection for logs and lumber ; Pm getting to be a promi- 
nent man in our county, I can tell you, Joessa. But then,” 
continued he, with the air of one who is paying a compli- 
ment, “ if I had known that you were here I’d have come 
all the way to see you and pay you an old-fashioned visit.” 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 143 

Joessa smiled ; in spite of her despair, Job’s kindly feel- 
ing inspired her with something akin to it. Long-for- 
gotten memories revived, and old springs of action moved 
her, though with enfeebled power. 

“1 am very glad to see you,” she said. “ There are 
times when I long for the old friends and old places.” 

“ Old Peter is alive yet,” cried Job, with a hearty laugh, 
“ but he never has anything to do with the women. He’s 
a confirmed woman-hater.” 

Joessa sighed. 

“ I was very young and very thoughtless then,” she said. 

“ Everybody says that it served him right, and I think 
so, too. He didn’t have any business going around after 
young girls who were young enough to be his grand- 
daughters. But I’m married myself, Joessa, and have 
six boys and girls ; it would do your heart good to see 
them. And you look prosperous, too,” continued he, eying 
Joessa’s clothing, which bore no marks of want. “ I sup- 
pose you’re settled down and married like the rest of us ? ” 

Job was too much engaged with himself to notice 
Joessa’s pallor ; he would have stayed on the street and 
talked all day if nothing interrupted. His last words had 
brought back to her the resolve which she had for a mo- 
ment forgotten — she would die. 

“ Here is my card and address,” said she, giving it to 
him. “ I must go now, but yon can call and see me.” 

There was some solace in thinking that an old friend 
who truly loved her would come to find her dead. It had 
been so ordained that she would not be alone among utter 
strangers at the last. 

“ I’ll come to see you, Joessa,” said he, “ you may be 
sure of that. I know my old friends when I meet ’em, 
and I appreciate ’em, too.” 

She seemed to have passed through an indistinct dream. 
There had been houses and streets and people, all mingled 
in strange congeries, but now she saw more clearly and 
was seated at the table in her own room with the bottle 
of poison before her. Nightmares had followed her, and 
now she had come to the end. 

Again she thought over her arguments, for she needed 
strength to face what was before her ; there was time 
enough, and no call for haste. The dose would be as 
deadly an hour hence as now ; she would feel what it was 


144 


JOESSA ; OR, 


to live a little longer even if it were in the midst of suffer- 
ing — there would soon be complete rest. Then there 
arose visions of the old teachings to which she had paid 
such little heed ; what was to come when the body became 
cold and was no longer moved by the senses ? Would all 
end or would it be only the beginning ? She had seen 
pictures of fires and unspeakable torments, and shuddered 
while she thought that her deed would provoke equal or 
worse. 

Come what might she was tired of living and would go 
— it mattered little where. The blame did not lie alto- 
gether with her, there might be mercy for one so tired of 
life ; but, mercy or none, she would not draw back. In 
this way only could she protest against her cruel wrongs, 
and she would be true to herself — all things were so black 
and she was so tired. There were cases when to take 
one’s own life was justifiable, and no case more than hers. 
When there was nothing to live for, it was far better to 
die and make way for some one else. Her life had been 
a failure and she would make room for some one who 
would be successful. 

She listened, there was no one to interrupt, there was 
no one passing in the hall — the house had the quiet of a 
funeral and there was good reason that it should be so ; 
there would be one soon — her own. Palmer might be 
there and Job, but they would never understand her, and 
she would be white and cold and would know nothing of 
it. Nothing would be there but her poor worn body and 
the rest — but would there be anything more ? Then she 
reached out her hand cautiously and took up the bottle. 
IIow smooth and innocent it seemed. But here was the 
great mystery which she wondered at and feared, and 
would soon know. The liquid was like wine, and she had 
read poems in praise of wine which brought forgetfulness 
— no such forgetfulness as this. 

She swayed the bottle about, noting how the liquid 
rolled from side to side ; it seemed so small to have such 
tremendous power. Her hesitation had all passed away 
now, and she felt the way clear before her, but she would 
wait a few moments yet — the time had not yet come. So 
she put the bottle back on the table and looked at it curi- 
ously ; it had such a powerful fascination, and she liked 
so well to study it. 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. 145 

She heard footsteps in the hall, and her own door was 
thrown open with a bang. Job came in and at once seated 
himself without being asked. 

“ You see that I don’t stand on ceremony with old 
friends,” cried he, looking around the room as if to take 
an inventory of the furniture. In his rapid survey his 
eyes rested on the poison, and he knew what it was. 

et You are pale and look troubled, Joessa,” continued 
he. 66 1 was so glad to see you that I didn’t notice it this 
morning, but I see it now. Have you had any bad luck 
lately ? is there anything that I could do to help you ?” 

“ No, there is nothing,” said Joessa, “ I don’t feel very 
well to-day, and I presume that 1 don’t look very well. I 
am only an old woman any way.” 

“ Not so very old,” said Job, “and you don’t look so 
very homely, either. Of course you are not so handsome 
as you used to be. You couldn’t expect it.” But what 
are you doing with that bottle ? Have you got the tooth- 
ache ? You’d better be careful with it or you may get an 
overdose.” 

Joessa was all aflame ; she was desperate and did not care 
who knew it. 

“ I am going to take it,” she cried. “ there is nothing 
for me to live for, and I am going to die.” 

Job opened his eyes widely, he did it slowly but surely. 

“You’re taking on pretty bad, Joessa,” said he. “I 
hope that you’ll feel better after awhile.” 

“Why should I not die if I wish,” she asked vehe- 
mently. “ I am wretched and have the power to take my 
life ; what is there to prevent it ? Is it not right to do 
it ?” 

“You ask me a hard question, Joessa,” replied Job, 
“ and it would not be strange if a wiser man could not 
answer you. I see things only in the common way and 
find that good enough for me in most things. I was 
pretty wretched, too, when you first gave me the mitten, 
but 1 got over it, and if you think over your own troubles, 
they may seem, after awhile, to be lighter than you think 
them. I always believed that, in doing a thing, we should 
put all the power we have into it ; if we don’t do that, w6 
are lacking and don’t do it well. 

“Now I can’t say how we came by life ; it is a very 
strange thing. But we are here and it seems to me that 


146 


JOESSA ; OR, 


we ought to do as well as we can with what is given, and put 
our full strength in the work. I don’t believe in shirking 
responsibility, and, Joessa, I think that you are talking 
very much as if you wanted to shirk something,” 

“ And why should I not shirk,” queried she defiantly, 
“ if I wish ? ” 

“ I have always noticed,” answered he, “ that the people 
who always do as they wish and who never stop to con- 
sider what is right are not the safest examples to go by. 
I can always trust the man who puts conscience into his 
work and who is not moved by every whim. Have you 
put conscientiousness into your work, Joessa? and have 
you done the best you could with it ? ” 

“ I have followed my inclinations,” said she. 

“Is it as well with you,” continued he, “ as if you had 
thought more of what you ought to do and less of your 
inclinations ? We all have a pretty serious task ; I don’t 
believe that we gain anything by slighting it.” 

“I made mistakes,” said she, “ because I didn’t know 
any better, and no one pardons me because I made them. 
I can’t bear to face the consequences ; 1 must die, as there 
is no other way out.” 

“ And is that a fair way out ? ” asked he. “ You shirk 
what you should do, you make mistakes and try to find a 
way out, instead of trying to do better. This is hardly 
justice to yourself or to what is around you. It seems 
to me that by doing so you are not doing the best you can. 
There is a lack somehow and, Joessa, I don’t believe that 
you yourself would call this honesty.” 

“ It is so hard to try again,” answered Joessa, “ and I 
am so much discouraged. Where one lies prostrate, it is 
asking a great deal when you speak of making another 
struggle yet. Is it not better to wait and let death come ? 
That will surely come sooner or later.” 

“ But you talk of hastening it,” said he ; “ that is using 
strength which might resist in aiding the enemy.” 

“ But if he does not seem an enemy ? ” 

“ Let us try to find the actual world — not resem- 
blances — if not entirely, with what strength we have. If 
we use our might with full honesty, we can never blame 
ourselves ; but I think the struggle should not end while 
we can keep it up — let there be hope or no hope. Any- 
thing less is cowardice and failure in endeavor.” 


SO SPINS THE FLYING WORLD AWAY. U7 


“ I will not argue with you any more/’ said she ; but 
seized the bottle and gave it to Job. “ Perhaps I have 
not done my best — at least, I will not give up just now, 
although I cannot tell what I have to look to.” 

The door opened again ; the child whom Job had under- 
taken to rear came into the room ; boy-like he was seeking 
Job. As the woman and boy met face to face, the mill- 
owner saw clearly what he had never suspected before ; 
charts and long-labored genealogies were not necessary to 
convince him of the truth of what he saw ; the marks im- 
printed by Nature’s own hand told him that the two were 
mother and son. 


THE END. 





































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